Treetop walk

So it carried on snowing during the night and the transport agency indicated chains would be needed from Arthur's Pass. When we got outside it was a beautiful day, sunny with blue skies and a snow covering. Probably a couple of inches on the top of the car, but the roads looked to have been gritted and ploughed (we had heard snow ploughs going through in the night, Tash thought it was an earthquake).

We brushed off the snow and drove to the cafe in town for a coffee. Just before the cafe was a checkpoint - we parked before and walked, stopping to chat with the old guy on the barrier. He said we'd be fine to drive through with the 4wd just take it easy and the longer we left it the more the roads would be clear.

Fuelled by coffee and toasties (and a chocolate milkshake that turned out to be caramel) we set off. The roads were actually fine, largely clear of anything other than grit. We stopped at a couple of viewpoints to look down the Otira Gorge. The first one was on a side road up a hill, we went up followed by another car, who couldn only make it half way - the benefits of 4wd. Views were spectacular and the snow made it even better. We carried on to Hokitika and avfter about 15km or so the snow had vanished completely.

Sam and I remembered Hokitika from our last trip - we'd stopped for a short bite to eat and there is a distinctive clock tower in the middle, reminiscent of Skegness!. The visitor information was open and we got tickets for the treetop walkway and went to their cafe for lunch. The walkway was interesting - about 5 stories up near the treetops, a bit bouncy to walk along and the floor was see through grills. Various stops around the way told you things about the rainforest. One stop was a taller tower, 47m up, with great views across to the snow capped mountains. The other notable one was a cantilevered gantry that bounced and wobbled when you were at the end. A good way to spend an hour.

From the gift shop lady we got directions to Hokitika Gorge, about 40 minutes drive away she told us (the misleading map made it look about 10 minutes away0. The drive was nice with the mountains in front of us and we parked up and set off. 4 minutes in was a viewpoint down to the chain bridge which was 10 minutes in. The chain bridge was great fun, very wobbly as you walked and more so when certain people bounced up and down. We then went down to the waterfront, an amazing blue colour to the water and clambered over the rocks. Good views and experience for a relatively short walking time we decided.

Back to Hokitika and the Shining Star Beachfront Accommodation. Got checked in and a recommendation for dinner (Stumpers pub in town) and went to our chalet, kids room upstairs. Straight onto the beach, which, as someone had told me, had lots of large lumps of driftwood on it. We spent 45 minutes down there, kids being chased by waves coming in, which were surprisngly fast, Ed struggling to outrun at one point.

After food at Stumpers we called into the Glow Worm Dell across the road from the accomodation. Had to resort to the phone torch to see our way up the path. Turning it out at the end revealed hundreds of tiny spots of light in the bushes, real live wild glow worms. We turned in for the night, planning to visit the Kiwi Sanctuary in town next day.Read more