The West Coast Itself

Departing early morn' after the treacherous night in the Subaru, and facing another great, sunny day, we were excited about the trip up the West Coast. It draws comparisons with Big Sur, which is one of my favorite drives, and promised several other unique stops along the way.

One of the first is the town of Hokitika. If you're ever in NZ and want to really look at the local art scene, stop here. There are lots of cafes, and a great fudge shop, and it's really a town you could spend 24 hours in. There are tons of great artists working here, primarily in Jade and native woods. It also has nice views--though it's on the coast, you can see (in the one picture with buildings in it) how its lagoon sits in the shadow of the Southern Alps.

The other pictures are from various stops along the West Coast north of Hokitika. The comparisons to Big Sur are not overstated--this trip exceeds it in some ways (and not in others). Great cliffs, mountains, rock outcroppings, and a beautiful coastal road. If you ever want to invest in a stunning piece of real estate, there are tons of fresh opportunities here.

Our plan was to spend the night in Punakaiki, just after the Pancake Rocks that will be seen in the next post to come. There's a beautful beach camp there, and the weather was great. We should have stuck with that plan. But after getting our 5am start, it was so early in the day that we were tempted to make our second big mistake of the trip...