West Coast
ADVENTURE
Arthur’s Pass, the renowned crossing of the South Island. From Christchurch to Greymouth, the landscapes evolve and diversify.
It starts with the barren mountains so common to this half of the country, probably the ideal playground for winter sports enthusiasts.
We stopped for two waterfalls, one cute, and one truly impressive. As much as I gasped for breath to reach the viewpoint, the 113 metres of water cascading gracefully and voluptuously were worth every step. It's probably the highest waterfall I've ever seen up close and, just for that, this crossing was worth it.
We then stopped by a viaduct, not so much for the view but in the hope of spotting a Kea, the large mountain parrot. The spot was renowned for its presence, but luck was not on our side at that moment.
So we continued our journey, watching the mountains gain abundant vegetation and look much more tropical than what we had become used to for four months in the country.
Then, finally, the lush mountains opened up to reveal the Tasman Sea. Another expanse of saltwater to add to my swimming list!
As it was still early, we headed to Hokitika Gorge for a walk in the forest alongside the river of the same name, with a supernatural blue colour reminiscent of Montanejos, the thermal town near Valencia.
Then, a quick shower in the river, followed by an enthusiastic hunt for pounamu. It is indeed possible to find raw jade on the banks of the famous river, as well as on some beaches.
So, with loads of stones in our hands, we headed towards the Woodstock Hotel, which apparently allowed camper vans to park overnight.
I don't usually detail the places where we park to sleep, but there are far fewer available and signposted facilities on the west coast of the South Island. We actually found this one following the advice of the owner of our next house-sit.
So, if you ever find yourself wandering around Hokitika, the Woodstock Hotel is a tavern run by very friendly people, who brew their own beer and leave the toilet door open during the night for travellers (without any condition of consumption) to use.
And, most importantly, the big highlight is that it's a 5-minute walk from a glowworm dell. By day, it looks like a cave with a barely visible entrance, but it actually opens up to a dell discovered by minors the century before last and could serve as a backdrop to Tomb Rider with its rocky walls covered in vegetation. The last time I saw a place like this was in Cambodia, near Battambang.
But it's mainly at night that the magic happens: the walls then glow with a brilliant blue, overshadowing the starry sky above our heads. Hundreds of glowworms have made their home in this little protected corner, and they left us as amazed as kids (a state in which we should try to stay as much as possible anyway).
The next day, filled with hope, we brought our green discoveries to a workshop specialised in pounamu. However, it turned out that we had only found quartz and serpentine (which are also stones with interesting properties in lithotherapy but not usable at that precise moment). So we had to choose the stones we would transform into pendants among the ones provided by the workshop.
If you've followed me a bit, you know I love to create and let my imagination run wild. So, I was a bit frustrated when I was given a sheet of paper and a pencil to draw the design of my future creation in fifteen minutes. It's my fault, I had convinced myself that the options would be limited and that I would have to choose between various predefined pendant shapes and follow a pattern. So, I panicked when I was given carte blanche; I would have wanted more time to meditate on my own on the shape I would give to this unique talisman.
Not wanting to delay everyone, I followed my instincts and drew a downward-pointing triangle, a symbol of the Yin polarity that I try to embody more and more. In the centre, I engraved a spiral, representing not only water, fluidity, creativity, and emotions but also the infinite cycles of life, evolution, and renewal. Moreover, it's a symbol often used in Maori art, and I wanted my work to also pay tribute to the place of its creation.
Then, some small lines in the corners, to light up the whole thing and add my personal touch. The myriad of dots wasn't planned; I went a bit freestyle once I got the machine in hand.
We really enjoyed the experience, and it made us want to venture into engraving semi-precious stones (another manual creative activity to add to the endless list of our passions to explore, hehe). The result isn't perfect, but they're our creations. We shaped the jade to amplify its already powerful energy and make it our own. And that was really cool.
Then we headed towards Westport for a sunset on the horizon. Dani, having spent all his life on the Spanish East Coast, had never seen one. So, we chose a spot by the beach and played the game Juliette had gifted us while waiting for the sun to set... inland. Westport wasn't as westward-facing as we thought. Oops. That'll have to wait for another time.
The next day, we finally headed north without encountering a soul, network, or radio signal for a few hours. Our destination: Abel Tasman and the Golden Bay before returning to house-sitting in Nelson.
But I'll tell you all about that once our stay in the sunny city comes to an end.
❂ Thank you for reading me ❂
We then hit the road towards Greymouth, one of the main towns on the West Coast, but the weather went wild, and we took refuge in a water park to make up for all those lost hours of yoga by swimming and enjoying a hot shower.
The next day, we drove between Greymouth and Westport, which, for the moment, is the most beautiful road I've seen in this country. Hours spent along the wild coast with lush jungle-covered mountains on our right and the raging waves on our left.
We stopped to explore back up a river cutting through this tropical-looking vegetation, as well as to be splashed by natural blowholes. Another highlight of this trip for me.
No matter what they say, yes, the mountains are beautiful; they represent strength and stability. But nothing can compare to the powerful waves of an untamed sea. It's freedom, it's vastness. Seeing them crash against the cliffs, then rise up the hollows carved with time and explode several metres above the rock, giving life to little magical rainbows, was truly exhilarating. I could have stayed there for hours.
That's it, for me, the underlying question behind "Are you more of a sea or mountain person?":
Do you prefer to work hard and climb the solid rock to be rewarded at the top, or to go with the flow of life, free like the waves that renew themselves endlessly? There's no wrong answer, but I know what I choose!
⇠ Glowworms. They were hard to capture in photo but, truly, it was enchanting.
