Hokitika to Christchurch

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Leaving Franz Joseph we set off on route to Christchurch via a small town called Hokitika. This is a very small coastal town not notable for very much except that we arrived shortly after there had been a beach competition to create sculptures from the masses of driftwood on the beach.
Needless to say some were hard to fathom and were clearly from the eye of the creater although the titles were in some part appropriate. My personal favourite being a mish mash of knarled tree branches and such like with the title. "One Day My Son All This will be Yours" a winner for me.
We spent a quiet night here in a ocean facing bedroom.

The following day was planned to travel to Christchurch in preparation for our flight onward to Australia. We travelled on the highway leading to Arthurs Pass which is about half way and set in mountains as the name might suggest. We stopped for coffee and noted that the small town was extremely bus but did not know why. When we set off again we picked up a hitch hiker. A very interesting guy from the Czech Republic who was travelling alone. He informed us the reason for the town being so crowded was that a race had started a little time before we had arrived and that the race was to the top of the mountain that we had just taken so long to travel over and back down again.

We travelled on chatting for the two hours and dropped him in Christchurch at his hosel which was only a block from where we were staying. All in all a bit of a dull day travelling brightened up with some interesting chat.

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Comments

[Maureen]

wow!
it all looks so fantastic, you'll be so fit when you get home. Australia next then look forward to reading about it all, love to you both take care Ken & Maureen xxx