Hokitika

Driving further up the west coast, we based ourselves in Hokitika so that we could get some beach time, as well as check out Arthur’s Pass. At least by the maps I consulted, there are only 2 passes through the Southern Alps - Haast Pass in the south, which we used to go from Wanaka to Franz Josef Glacier; and Arthur’s Pass in the north. There was a short hike to a waterfall, which we just had to do, of course. This viaduct served the road we took…

… and this scenery greeted us near the top -

The Devil’s Punchbowl Falls…

… would only give me a piece to work on, softening the water flow -

We went out and back to Arthur’s Pass on the day we arrived in town, as it was a 90 minute drive each way. The scenery was quite bucolic -

Once in Hokitika, we checked out the beach…

… which was quite wide at low tide, and pretty deserted -

Besides black sand, the beach was composed of numerous stones that had been scoured smooth -

An interesting activity in the town was visiting -

Glow-worms are the larvae of the fungus gnat. They have a glowing light on their tails that attracts prey. Glow-worms do not fly, like lightning bugs, but rather hang around waiting for little insects to come to them. On our first night in town, we followed Google Maps to walk to the dell, just about 5 minutes from our cottage. I took the tripod so I could get a prolonged exposure -

The next day I walked back to find out what the area really looked like in which we had been stumbling around in the dark -

We also visited Hokitika Gorge…

… that had a short hike to different viewpoints -

The blue was even more pronounced when in contrast with the white rock shore or surrounding greenery -

If this Weka doesn’t look nearly prehistoric, I don’t know what does. ;)

In each country we visit I try to get a picture of its flag. This windy day was perfect -

And that’s about it for Hokitika!