NZ Holiday - West Coast of NZ - From Hokitika to Haast

Once upon a Day in the West - 19th October

Lookout for stunning views

Breathe in for Narrow Bridges

Enjoy the open road

Ride a bike through the Rain Forest

Pedal up to the Car Park at Fox Glacier

Dance on the Ice

Make friends with the locals - that is close enough!

Wrap up warm

Go to the end of the ice - the terminus of the 13 km Fox Glacier

Say g'day to Bruce Bay

Direct the camera at Knights Point

The decision to stop early yesterday was vindicated, out came the sun. We made an early start, heading for the Glaciers. There are two very famous ones on this side of the Alps. Franz Josef, named after the Austrian Emporer, comes up first and then Fox named after a kiwi PM. Neither slides down to the Highway of course, you have to go up to meet them. Franz Josef is the most touristy. After a brief cake stop to pay our respects to the Emporer we pushed on over three hills to Fox. Rather than drive up to the glacier, we rented a couple of bikes. This was a master-stroke. There is a bike path that goes up through Native Bush to the Car Park. We made time for a lunchtime picnic, sitting on a rock underneath a tree fern, before riding and walking the final stretch up to the ice flow. The Glacier is 13 km long and, at its terminus, is only 300m above sea level, almost in the rain forest. It is possible to walk on the ice if you can afford a guided tour. We were quite happy to view Fox from a safe distance and then scuttle back down the hill as the weather deteriorated and an icy blast developed off the mountains. Now we are in Ship Creek! It was still warm in Fox township as we set off for Haast. I have good memories of cycling this road many years ago and being invited to the stay the night at the home of the schoolmaster and his family at Jacobs River. After they had given me dinner I was taken to the nearest pub, about 60 miles to the South at Haast Hotel for a very sociable evening. Then we drove back to Jacobs River. Good to see that the school is still there, can't be too many schoolchildren locally. We planned to go to the same pub in Haast tonight. Really stunning afternoon drive with deserted ocean beaches on one side and bush on the other.  Plenty of photo opportunities along the way. We had our planned Dinner in the Haast pub, I think it has been rebuilt but the atmosphere remained. It's a very sparsely populated area but lots of 'locals' were out for their Friday drink and rubbing shoulders with a few tourists like ourselves. Certainly a place with life and atmosphere. The Food and Beer was good too. What a brilliant day and what a place to be a tourist! Beautiful weather and no insects! Superior drift wood at Ship Creek The  blowing, foaming surf at Ship Creek