My Kiwi Experience!: Hokitika & Fox Glacier

It was nightfall by the time we arrived at Hokitika so we were a little worried when the backpackers we hoped to live at was closed. Ah! Ok, don't panic, call the one we saw on the way in. I'm glad that we stayed at where we did because, well, look at the pictures and you be the judge...

Aren't they cute???!?!?! The owner of Birdsong (that's the name of the place) actually told us, "You'll know which beds are yours, girls". Haha... oh yes, it was obvious!

How can you not take a picture with such a cute footstool?!?! Oh, mind you, this cute thing would set you back NZD30. Alternatively, you can learn from Pet - she bought a smaller one for much less money yet the same cuteness. You can tell I went to sleep a happy girl... haha..

It was phototaking-spree time the morning after... here's the balcony of the place that welcomes all visitors. The slightly ajar windows belong to the room we spent the night in:

Here's the common kitchen (which I absolutely love):

The kitchen is connected to the living area where we have two internet kiosks, dining tables and a fireplace:

I wonder what this sheep was looking at?

And oh, I totally love the idea of incorporating a mini library with the stairs:

More surprises awaiting guests outdoors, too!

From the parking lot, follow a little stony footpath and you'd find this cosy corner:

With the owners building the place from scratch with their bare hands coupled with friendly suggestions and excellent customer service, I'd say a job superbly done!

As Hokitika is well-known for it's greenstone or jade and it's ruby rock, Pet made a point to stop at some galleries. Yes, the stones were pretty but the price was prettier. I couldn't bring myself to purchase any of them regardless of how exquisite they looked. However, I did purchase yet another paper weight from the Hokitika Glass-blowing Studio to add to my collection. If you know me well enough, you'd know that I enjoy buying blow-glass paper weights.

We made a quick stop at the Information Centre to ask about a place called Lake Cannery. We could not locate it on our map and we found out why - the lake is spelt Kaniere and pronounced slightly differently to the yellow bird's pronunciation. We had a good laugh. We had an even better laugh when we took a look at the picture I snapped of the i-Centre:

The car! Despite my good intention of capturing the insight of the government turning an old post office into an i-Centre, I couldn't help thinking that the car may get more attention!

The drive to Lake Kaniere was a long one but it was well worth it. Our reward - amazing scenery and divine serenity....

From there, we drove further up the unbeaten track to Dorothy Falls... haha... Dor, so proud leh, you have a waterfall named after you!

It was another long drive to Hokitika Gorge. I don't know what Pet was thinking but I think I was amazed at how I found the Pukeko birds amusing! We saw so many of them while driving through the fields towards the gorge:

Now this is what turquoise blue should look like!

When we have had enough of Hokitika, we continued our journey southwards. First stop, Fox. Basically, Fox is a glacial town. I mean, look at the glacier!:

Yes, all that white bit in between the brown bits is ice. Cold, hard, ice! And to think that we would be climbing and touching one the next day... shivers... We did not stop here for long as we decided to spend the night at the next glacial town.

Franz Josef, here we come to conquer you!