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Published: March 3rd 2009
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I've made it through the west coast with only a smattering of rain! This part of the country is amazingly beautiful with high mountains right along the coast line with a few glaciers thrown in there and lots of rivers and gorges! I left the nelson area and headed south to Westport, or as the locals say...Deadport. Basically sums it all up. But I did meet an interesting fellow while waiting for the bus out of town. He was an older chap, he claimed 54 but I suspect older. He was on his way down the coast to go gold mining. He was meeting up with a friend down in Greymouth where he'd party for a few days and hopefully hook up with his mates mum who was his same age. He then made some remark about bringing heaps of condoms and I couldn't help but laugh while my eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. He also claimed that him and his mate would make about $1500 per day while using their gold detector up in the hills. I was tempted to change my itinerary and head up into the hills myself to boost up my travel budget, but decided
Monteiths brewery tour
Just helping myself.... I might meet some pretty crazy people up there, so I dropped the idea. He was a pretty interesting fellow though and he sure made the time go by while waiting for the bus.
My next stop was Punakaiki where I visited the Pancake Rocks. I stayed in a nice hostel right on the beach for two nights and just loved watching the sunsets over the Tasman Sea. This was one of my favorite hostels cause it was so chill and there were lots of interesting people to talk to. I continued down the coast to Greymouth where I went on the Monteiths Brewery Tour, a local NZ beer. At the end of the tour we were able to pour our own glass from the tap as many times as we could handle. My favorite was the Summer Ale which has a bit of ginger in it! Pretty delicious!
From Greymouth I went to Hikitika, the jade capital of NZ. Earlier in my travels I had heard that you could carve your own jade here, so thats exactly what I did. I signed up for the full day workshops at Bonz 'n Stonz where I spent 6 hours creating my
jade necklace. First we came up with our design, then chose which piece of rock to use. Steve, the master carver, then cut down our chosen rock to the appropriate shape and size and then we were on our own. It was pretty fun but also difficult to shape the stone then drill and carve out the design. I was always scared I was going to somehow break my jade while drilling through it, but thankfully that never happened. At the end of the day it was really rewarding to see your finished product and know that all your hard work payed off. It was pretty exhausting getting to the finished product. I have a lot more respect for carvers now!
With my new necklace tied around my neck, I headed off to the glacier region. Franz Joseph and Fox Glacier are two small towns that thrive on the tourists who come to explore the glaicers. I stayed a few night in Franz Joseph where I did a guided tour up Franz Joseph Glacier. We spent about 5 hours walking up the ice fully clad in crampons, boots, pants, jackets, hats and gloves. Sometimes it was pretty nerve racking walking
across this narrow icy path with deep chasms on either side of you while still figuring out how to walk with sharp metal spikes sticking out of your feet. But luckily enough no one in our group fell down any of these cracks and we all made it down safely! The Franz Joseph glacier and Fox glaicer are two pretty unique glaciers in that they're surrounded by rainforest and extend nearly down to sea level. Pretty amazing to see! I also spent a night at Fox Glacier where I hiked a path to a lookout point and admired this glacier from afar. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudly while I was in this area, so I never got a good look at Mt Cook which towers over the glaciers. But such is life.
After the glaciers I continued down the coast and turn east toward Haast Pass which took me over to Wanaka. Overall I had a great time on the west coast and was constantly in awe of all the beautiful mountains. Since there is only one road that goes down the whole coast, I continually ran into the same people day after day. It was wonderful to arrive
Punakaiki Local
Old, pantless, man I spotted collected mussels! at your hostel and see a couple familiar faces who you had just said goodbye to a few days before. Such a wonderful life backpacking!
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isaacs mama
non-member comment
hi anna!
gosh, I guess I could send you an email! I love all the photos. You are having way too much fun. Your pictures are beautiful, it really takes me to where you are. by the way, I am sure your mom told you I am getting married. It will be in June (the 20th)it would be cool if you were home then! take care- miss you- lots and lots of love and hugs! Diana