Hokitika and Ross

Another stormy night with the wind shaking the van from side to side. I was worried we would wake up in Oz surrounded by tiny munchkins! Simons catch the leak contraption did the trick though and we didn't wake up with soggy feet.

After breakfast, we continued our journey south to Hokitika, in particular Hokitika gorge on which you can walk across a swing bridge over beautiful turquoise waters. To make the drive more interesting and to save doubling back on ourselves we decided to drive there via Lake Kaniere and visit Dorothy Falls. This would have worked out very well had the road not been closed so in actual fact we made a massive detour to visit a very underwhelming waterfall. The lake was pretty though and as always the countryside is gorgeous.

Eventually we made it to the gorge where we had lunch to see if the rain would hold off a little bit (as it was pretty heavy at this point). It wasn't really easing off so we went for it anyway. The one good thing the rain does seem to do is intensify the numerous different shades of green in the forest, from the moss to the trees. Despite the rain, it was a really nice short walk. Unfortunately because of the rain, the water wasn't the beautiful turquoise colour we were expecting and instead more of a muddy grey but it was stunning all the same.

Simon is really getting into this walking malarkey, even in the rain, so we headed to an old gold mining town called Ross where he had found a walk around the old gold mine and sluice pipes. Long gone is the boy that wouldn't even walk into town from Bedminster. The rain started up again just as we pulled into the car park, right on schedule. Despite this we put on our raincoats and headed out. The rain did ease off slightly and the walk took us past an old miners hut and a small cemetery. If the weather is good and their isn't so much rain, you can hire a pan and go panning for gold in the river. After the walk and a nice cup of tea, we set off once more to Franz Josef where we would be spending the night. Unfortunately there isn't any free spots around this area so we had to pay $35 for a spot in a campsite. It was good to get the heater on though after a very damp day. They also have free wifi so we don't even have to talk to each other. Swings and roundabouts :)Read more