Christchurch > Hokitika
Today was our big haul across the South Island - originally to Greymouth, but instead a bit further south to Hokitika, ready for the Franz Josef Glacier tomorrow.
Once again, the roads were open (!!), and the blue skies also gave us more winds across the Canterbury Plains, with the mountains looming ahead of us. A quick check of the map to make sure that campervans were allowed on the road, and off we climbed towards Arthur's Pass, past peaks with such heartening names as 'Mount Misery'.
 
Much winding later and we were there - distinctly cooler (both in temperature and unsmiling solitary climber types), and had a perfectly adequate lunch of pies (It was either that or raw lamb chops from our fridge). Somehow the road wasn't quite so dramatic as the Desert Road on North Island, or maybe we're just becoming desensitised.
And then the climb back down... very slowly, and this was down a gorge along which caravans weren't allowed.
The sea was again in sight (now the Tasman Sea, as we're on the West Coast), and we were soon parked up in our very sleepy seaside town - not at all as I imagined (in my head it was raining, like the Kauri Forests of the north - instead it was sunny and dry).
 
So were got ourselves booked into our campsite then went to sit on the sand watching the waves crash up the beach - I tried to be clever and film a wave washing over my feet... but was caught by a big one which soaked my shorts. Then we headed into town and had a fantastic dinner at Stumpers - especially good because of the platter they fed James (aka Noo Noo) which went down a treat. And they had fantastic NZ wine, too.
8:48:32 PM 
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