After visiting the glaciers I continued up the coast to Hokitika, Greymouth and Westport.
The beach where I camped at Hokitika.
Later that evening.
The following day I spent driving in the country following a circular scenic route. First stop Hokitika Gorge.
There is a swing bridge to cross the gorge, very beautiful there. Note the blue glacier water again.
I then travelled across country on an unmade road to Lake Kanlere stopping at Dorothy Falls on the way.
I stopped here at Lake Kanlere for lunch, intending to sit on the bank, benches provided, I gave up very quickly as I was getting bitten to death by sand flies. They are all up the west coast very tiny but draw blood and inject an anticoagulant. After each bite I swell up and itch for about a week.
There was a very interesting museum at Hokitika, not a lot to take pictures of except this Meccano model of a river gold dredger, it is a complete working model.
Hokitika main street.
I visited a small wild life centre, some of these eels are over 100 years old.
The reason for visiting the wildlife centre was to see an emu, they had 2 there but as they are nocturnal photographs were forbidden. At least I did manage to see an emu, as they are almost extinct the chances of seeing one in the wild are very unlikely.
I stayed in Greymouth for a night, not a lot there apart from an Irish Bar that sells genuine imported Murphy’s stout.
The beaches here on the Tasman Sea have loads of driftwood which people salvage for firewood. All the forests further south go right to the waters edge and the falling trees from the cliffs end up in the sea.
Continuing up to Westport I stopped at an area known as Pancake Rocks, nobody really knows why the rocks have layered in this way.
A colony of shags.
A couple of dolphins in the sea.
And another of those very busy fur seals.
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