Hokitika

On the return trip to Westport we stopped in the resort town of Hokitika. It's a coast town, like Westport, but Hokitika has really been able to draw in tourists and grow.

Main Street Hokitika

Ruben just had to stop and try out the public art.

Mid-afternoon on a Sunday and there were quite a few people admiring the surf. It's too rough to swim,
but people were sunbathing on the beach, picnicking, and taking pictures.

As a wee treat, we gifted ourselves with a scenic flight over glacier country. The flight departed from Hokitika Airport on a clear, perfect day.

The Cessna

Ruben was concerned that this plane was too little!

Watching carefully that when the two people sharing our tour were seated
there would be room for both of us, as well as the pilot.

Ready for takeoff.

All systems go.

Leaving Hokitika....

...and entering glacier country.

We were impressed by the vastness of this wilderness. No roads lead into this
Department of Conservation-owned land, so the only way to see it is by air or to hike in.

Wilkinson Glacier

This small plane was able to dive in and around the peaks for an unforgettable glacier experience.

I took more pictures than posted here, but I figured this post was long enough!

About to touch down at Hokitika Airport.

Fox Glacier

From Punakaiki we continued south on Highway 6, through the towns of Greymouth and Hokitika, toward glacier country. There aren't expressways in New Zealand; there are 100 km/h two-lane highways and one-lane bridges. And that's the easy driving. Most of the roads are very winding with steep ascents and descents. The map directions said it should take us two hours to get from Hokitika to Fox Glacier. I was driving at this point and it took us three. I took the yellow caution signs seriously and really went 15 km/h when they suggested 15 km/h. We were incredulous that there were cylclists on these roads with full panniers and even pulling trailers. This would not only be incredibly hard work, but dangerous!

Waiting for cows to cross the road.

Clouds rolling in over the mountains.

Our hotel, the Westhaven Motor Inn, in Fox Glacier Village.

 Fox Glacier Village

Our plan for Saturday was to run to the terminal face of Fox Glacier. One of the main reasons we chose to visit Fox Glacier is that we could pick up a walkway/cycleway on the edge of town and make our way to the glacier on foot.

Along the track.

This looks like it once was riverbed. All of the rivers are low right now,
but we were told that even this was not alarmingly low.

Glimpse of the glacier.

River flowing from the glacier. The water was very grey here due to erosion of the rocks.

The center portion is all glacier, although it's hard to tell because there is so much dirt and sand on the top layer.
The mountains are constantly eroding into the glacier valley.

We met a group from Deerfield, Illinois, along the route.
They were nice enough to snap these pictures for us.

At the terminal face of the glacier. We saw at least three rockslides during our pause here.

The glacier is melting from the bottom up, creating this arch appearance.

We passed this pool along the way. We couldn't get close enough to tell if it was a hot spring,
but the minerals certainly caused some spectacular technicolor!

Wood pigeon.

On the road near Fox Glacier.