Left Coast Day

Aug 11

We are really sorry we don't have more time along the West Coast as we all really like it here. It seems to really be off the beaten track and the landscapes and sea coasts here really appeal to us. We are now heading towards Arthur's pass to hopefully make an acquaintance with a kea before we leave the beautiful South Island. Kind of a long driving day - we decided to head towards Jackson's Retreat which is 30k away from Arthur's Pass.

Next stop the Fox Glacier. Being tight on time, we decided against any of the glacier tours (expensive as well) and just went for the viewing. At the parking lot, there were signs with all the dire warnings, cautions about having good footwear all for a less than 10 minute walk to a viewing barricade. The Glacier looked like a bank of snow -completely underwhelming! Oh well, I suppose it would be more interesting if you went on it.

 On our travels we stopped in Hokitika. Geoff heard it was a good place to go for Jade. I'm glad we stopped as we were able to stock up on groceries and buy a couple pieces from the Jade carver himself. We looked in a few of the shops but many seemed kind of touristy. One place we stopped at, Heritage Jade, was closed but the owner and Artist, Colin Davidson, was just next door having coffee with some buddies and he let us in.  He gathers his own jade from local sources and crafts really beautiful pieces - all different kinds/shades. Went out did a bit more shopping had a talk then came back and bought 2. Geoff rarely sees something he wants for himself so I'm glad he got a jade fish hook there. I got a small spiral too.

 Almost missed the turn off for Jacksons Retreat but I'm glad we didn't. Definitely one of the nicest campgrounds we have stayed in. As we were coming in the welcoming crew came out- some brown flightless birds around the size of chickens. Geoff asked and I looked them up. They were weka. I think they look to campervans as a source of food. Sam said one of them  jumped up on our step to look in the van! Yes we are bad; we did feed them. It was hard not too as they were cute and persistent.

 Also saw our first South Island Robin and we did hear more Kaka although we didn't see them. There are many longer walks in the area that I'm sorry we didn't have time to go on. The owners of the campground did have a small forest walk along their bubbly stream and a grotto where you can see the glow worms at night. Nice clear night so we got a great view of the stars as well. I guess we visitors from the North Hemisphere are always impressed by the way we can see the Milky Way here. It is incredible the amount of stars you can see too.

As we were the only guests that nice, we took over the kitchen and lounge area. No logs for the wood burning stove but a gas heater made things cozy. It was a treat to cook in a large kitchen again! Made sausages, baked potatoes broccoli and peas. Not fancy but good. The owners are very eco conscious. They have replanted the land with native species of trees and shrubs, have compost bins, and even free herbs for guests to use!

We tried out the heat unplugged and the bugger worked! I don't what was wrong the first night.