I had a good night sleep last night in the cosy hostel and ended up waking up at half 7 which only gave me an hour to get ready! After a quick shower I treated myself to scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast and during this time maximised my use of the hostels free WiFi. In all I had a very productive morning in what was a good hostel in my books. I loved the laid back nature of the whole place, and it felt like staying in a house and not a hostel. The owner was even as laid back as you can get, just buying our keys back off us with notes from his pocket unlike most hostels who have checklists of our names and do formal check outs!
In the end we left by half 8, the first stop of the day being Cape Foulwind which was just a 10 minute drive or so down the road. It was here our driver dropped us off at this car park and said he would meet us further down the road at a car park so we could do this hour or so walk along the coast. Passing a lighthouse when reaching the top of the hill, the path weaved its way along the cliff top, at times going through bushes and over stiles. The weather was slightly cloudy today but that didn't stop us seeing these seals at this lookout which looked down at these rocks by the sea. There was this really cute pup which couldn't get on the rock and kept slipping over! It was only a short walk from here descending quickly along boardwalks to the car park.
When at the car park we had a wait for our driver, mainly because I had tanked the route and was first back. After some people bought ice creams and other snacks, we were finally off by around 10, continuing down south to our next stop in Punakaiki. It was here we stopped to see the pancake rocks and blowholes. A short 20 minute walk or so took us round to see these distinctive rock formations which basically looked like stacks of pancakes. There was also an area called the chimney pot which emitted lots of steam, but the most impressive part was the Putai blowhole. This was basically a hole which had been eroded away, which splashed lots of water upwards because it got the full force of the waves below.
After looking round the many formations which are still changing due to erosion, we settled down for lunch. It's not surprising its changing so much as the waves were really strong against the rocks! My lunch in the end was just crisps, apples and chocolate, which we spent just outside this cafe area. Some people bought these pancake stacks from the cafe but they were $17 each! There was a decent visitor centre next door as well which was interesting to look round.
We then continued our drive further south, next stop Greymouth where we picked up some people who had come across from Christchurch on the tranz alpine railway. This was just a pick up, and continuing on our drive took us further along the coast. En route we came to the really dodgy bridge which was a single lane shared with an active railway line. The only way to see if a train is coming is to drive onto the railway line as the approach was on a bend! Luckily we got over, although many people were falling asleep by this point so our driver played loud music. He was playing rock and disco stuff all day, and he continued this by turning up the volume!
Whilst on the long journey south, it was mental because when talking to this Tottenham fan I found out he grew up playing football with Callum Chambers! The next stop along was Hokitika which is a town famous for its greenstone. When getting off the bus we got a talk about the jade production in the area and got a quick demonstration about how it gets made from rock to final product. We had a while here after the talk, so I walked down to the beach which had this driftwood sign of the town. The town in all was a little weird but well worth the short visit we had.
From Hokitika it was one last push to Franz Josef which took us down some ridiculously scenic roads. Winding through rainforest we got the odd display of snow capped mountains. They were shrouded in cloud however in places. By around 4 we finally arrived in Franz Josef, famous for its glacier, with our first stop being the tour centre to confirm our tours for tomorrow. I booked the ice explorer which takes me up to the glacier. We didn't have to pay yet though because it is a weather dependent activity. It has been cancelled the last 4 days which wasn't a good sign.
On the way back to the bus it was funny because I bumped into two people I had met back at Kroombit in Australia in a cafe. It was so random! We then checked into our hostel which was a series of lodges within the rainforest. My dorm was pretty basic though not even including plug sockets. Like usual I dumped my stuff however and went out to explore the area, although I couldn't see much as the hills were covered in cloud and the air was moist. It was only a small village, primarily centred around hotels and tour companies to see the glacier. I just went to the information centre and collected a walks map, as well as having a look round some of the shops.
From here I quickly found the villages two solitary geocaches which took me down to the river with white fast flowing waters. From here it was all a pretty laid back evening, although I was starting to feel a little light headed for some reason. I just disregarded this however and cracked straight on with dinner which was lentil curry tonight. I then spent the evening on Skype and on the computer, which then led me to bed. I had the room to myself which meant I used the chance to catch up with things. It wasn't long from there until I fell asleep.
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