Surf & Snow & Scenery

Greymouth to Hokitika to Hokitika Gorge to Franz Joseph.
Every day starts differently for us, today was the day we had clear skies and a freezing cold wind. We are 30m from the sea and it is the coldest we have been all trip. The wind was from the south, straight off the snow.
The sea was pretty rough and an ugly swell so the girls played on the beach, that is the hard black granite rocks & pebbles that substitute for sand.
1st call was back into town to the tourist info centre which was great and the lady there gave us some very good info.
The first recommendation was to follow the concrete floodwall which follows the river down to the sea. The town has had numerous floods over the years and after 2 in 1988, they decided to build the floodwall. Can drive right out to the end where the sea & river meet. Definitely no surfers or swimmers out today, there was spray off the waves going 5m high and the only living souls out there were the seagulls, and they dont count!
Quite spectacular as when we looked south we could see the snow capped mountains in the background, behind the breaking waves.
Too cold to linger so we motored south towards Hokitika Gorge that we were told about. The 30km drive inland from Hokitika was superb with the road meandering through lush dairy and sheep pastures with the mountains and snow as a backdrop all the way. Got to go over a few more 1 lane bridges, over the many creeks & rivulets that cross this land.
Finally came upon the gorge which directed us on foot, to a gravel walkway for a few hundred metres before opening up onto a brilliant turquoise blue river which originates up in the mountains somewhere. The walk continued over the river, via a swinging cable footbridge, around a bend in the river to allow some more special views upstream.
After taking a gazillion photos we strolled back to the vans whereupon we set up out camp chairs, table and proceeded to enjoy our lunch overlooking the valley under a beautiful sunny day.
Places to go so we packed up and drove back into the town of Hokitika which is famous for the Jade / Greenstone. Had a look around but most of the jade is just as jewelry so we just windowed shopped for while before continuing our foray south.
Our aim was to reach the town of Fanz Joseph, 135km away, didnt seem too much of a stretch until about 30km out of Hokitika when it started to rain (1st time today!) and it kept going and even increasing to a torrential downpour in some stages. Arrived at FJ just on dark, 1st stop was the small supermarket and then onto the van park located just on the side of town.
The park is outstanding for scenery, we are parked out the back in the rainforest, with just enough space for our 2 vans and then rainforest between us and the next spaces.
Pretty nice facilities so we cooked tea, lightly interrogated a young Dutch couple, played a few hands of 500, Sue and I giving the Swan's a real surprise before they sneaked ahead and ran out eventual winners.

Weather was bizarre - cold and windy but fine early morning, warm & sunny and calm at lunchtime & then rain to heavy rain all afternoon, stopping after dinner.

Highlights
* lovely granite stone beach
* dramatic surf with the wind causing lots of spray
* seeing the surf with snow mountains in the background
* picturesque drive up to the gorge
* stunning colour of the river at the Hokitika Gorge
* glorious luncheon location
* dramatic drive into the mountains to Franz Joseph
* unique camping spot in the rainforest caravan parkRead more