Our final stop on our west coast adventure was at Hokitika gorge. We left the hills around Goldsborough and headed south to the small town of Hokitika on the coast. From there we turned inland and drove through flat farmland, turning occasionally along the grid of roads as we made our way closer towards the mountains in the distance. Eventually we arrived at the small carpark and made our way along the walking track towards the gorge.
We got our first view of the river and suspension bridge, the water looking an eerie shade of blue against the green of the surrounding forest. We continued on through the forest eventually crossing the swing bridge. We decided not to stop too long on the bridge and instead headed for some rocks at the side of the river.
We settled onto the rocks, enjoying the view of the swing bridge and the amazing turquoise water. Watching the river flow past, it was hard to believe that we really were watching river water flowing by.
Just like in some of the other parts of New Zealand, the water here is given the distinctive turquoise colour from the glacial flour that it is carrying. As we were visiting the gorge in early spring, there were particularly high levels of sediment in the water giving it the striking colour.
After enjoying our picnic lunch on the rocks, it was time to head back towards Christchurch. As we drove over Arthur’s Pass the rain finally caught up with us, but as we came over the far side of the pass we dropped out of the clouds and were able to spot fresh snow on the peaks in the distance.
All in all we had a great road trip, and as always we were amazing at how much we were able to see in a long weekend. There are so many contrasts in such a relatively small geographical area!