The Wiley, Windy, West Coast

We left sleepy little Takaka town to head further down the west coast toward the small town of Hokitika via the Pancake Rocks of Potikiki. Picked up a hitcher from Ireland named Milo. These world travelers are so unique. They all have a special story to share (and if you listen closely enough, there is always something to learn). Milo has traveled quite extensively and said that "Traveling tends to lead to more questions than answers". Which is interesting since many people travel to answer some question...

The west coast is impressively stark and rugged, compared to the green hills and beaches of the east coast. The weather comes in from the Tasman Sea and mercilessly beats on the coast.
The potikiki Pancake Rocks are formations that stack up due to erosion. There are also blowholes that shoot up walls of water at high tide. It was a short side trip.
The days drive was 5-6 hours total and again very twisty and windy. It rained like crazy for short spells. We found a nice house-hostel to stay at in Hokitika.
The next morning, back in the car toward Arthur's Pass, the highest altitude town in NZ and the gateway to the Southern Alps and glaciers. We figured it would be a good place for a few day hikes before venturing further south.

We drove directly to the DOC office to inquire about hiking opportunities. We were impressed (but not surprised) to hear that the rains we drove through the day before were part of the largest rainfall at Arthur's Pass. It rained almost 15 inches in 3 hours! The banks of the river started to overflow and they were close to evacuating the town. Everyone whole town was on notice. We could see the aftermath and bulldozers were rebuilding the walls of the riverbank. WOW!! The main day hike to Avalanche Peak was not recommended because parts of the trail had washed away. We chose another spectacular hike called the Bealy Spur, that overlooked the mountain range. The next day we started to hike up the steep trail to the Avalanche Peak to see how far we could get. Once we climbed above the bush line to the open rocks, the wind picked up and clouds started rolling in. The winds were the strongest than I have ever experienced in my life! I was on my hands and knees to take a few pictures. Mackenzie was blown backwards into some bushes. We looked at each other and pointed "Down Now!" We boogied down that hill and back to the car before the rain started.

Our goal was to find a hidden hot spring and take a dip after spending the day in the cold wind and rain. After following the directions we were given and trying several times for 90 minutes to find the springs (which were located along a remote river bank), we gave up before sunset. We found out later that, because of the heavy rains, the river had risen too high and covered the place were the hot spring would have met the river. Arrghhh...

We started driving toward the Franz Joseph Glacier for the night. The rain never let up and the next morning it was coming down in buckets. It was expected to rain the next few days (typical) so we decided to drive further south toward Wanaka, where we would plan the big hikes of the Otago Peninsula and Fiordland regions.

The West Coast of New Zealand is everything they say it is...a rugged, salt-sprayed stretch of wild rocky beaches, cliffs and bush-clad hills sweeping up toward towering icy peaks. Easy access to solitude is a major characteristic--a short plunge off either side of the highway, and you can be enveloped in rainforest, or skipping pebbles on a wind-swept beach, or tramping past a snow-clad silhouette of a serene mountainous lake.