Flag Inn Fitzherbert Court Motel Hokitika

... is an odd format. Les, the owner is slightly cookoo, but in a very humerous way. He reminds me a lot of Santa. The food was very yummy, especially the Bambi stew. Our pants idea worked!! A sheet, some ingenious roomates, safety pins and marker pens are all that was needed. We didn't win the prize however, because guess what?! They aren't ...

... to make Westport the stop point is because the stretch between Marahau and Hokitika is rather empty when it comes to towns and places to stay. Thankfully Westport is situated about 3 hours from Marahau and 2 hours from Hokitika AND has vital things like a gas station, food store and a motel :P. Judging by the amount of motels in the town however, all of the 6000 inhabitants must work in the tourist-industry in some manner. Which is ...

... cabin (i had to sleep on a matress on the floor as there were 100 people and not enough beds, but i wasnt really complaining as i only paid $10 to sleep....dirt cheap!!!) wanted to get up to see the sunrise over the lake, but i wasnt really sure what time it rose, and didnt wanna wake up to be honest! hahaha oopss ah well!!! off to the glaciers early in the morning!!

... two aussie women we met later said it dwarfed the Ocean rd), let alone our two oceans! In a country with so much beauty many people give this extraordinary drive the skip, or race through it. Needless to say it took us much longer than anticipated to reach Hokitika. One of the highlights were the bazaar Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. These limestone rocks have been eroded to form huge layered stacks with impressive blowholes which one should view at high tide ...

... to stay in a Homestay - which is a bit like a B&B but you stay in the family home and are often able to eat with the owners, which is what we did. Alison the owner, met us at the station as the house was bout 3 km away. We had a splendid room en suite, with TV, tea and coffee facilities and a patio door to a deck overlooking the Tasman Sea. They had a lovely garden with lots of these ferns, which is used ...

... aber nicht, wie der bloede Fluss aussieht, wenn ich ihn nicht queren kann. Nur mal so, die Maori-Frau, bei meiner ersten Flussquerungswanderung hat mir ungefaehr 12 mal ausgerechnet, wann ich welchen Fluss am besten queren soll und mir sogar lustige Bildchen aufgemalt, wie der Fluss aussieht wenn ich nicht gehen darf und wie er aussieht, wenn ich gehen darf usw... Also, frag die Einheimischen. War leider weit und breit keiner zu sehen, also hab ich beschlossen es ...

Compelling ourselves to dismantle the bed and set out exploring despite another drizzly morning, we drove first to Punakaiki - little more than a carpark and visitor centre on the main SH6 south. The drive along the coast was wet, beleak and wild, but showed off some dramatic coastline and pounding surf. Punakaiki is notable only for Pancake Rocks - a cluster of strange outcrops accessible from the main road by a short path through the bush. The rocks take their ...

... and watch the Marlborough vinyards skim past. As you might expect, I'm planning a tasting tour on my way back to Wellington at the beginning of next month ... Well it would be rude not to! We arrived in Nelson just in time to do some shopping before the shops closed. I had a quick mooch and stumbled upon some free (of charge) jazz going on outside somewhere off Bridge street. I listened for a couple of numbers, but to be frank, they really weren't very good. The ...

... was able to edge his way past which enabled us to continue along the track. The scenery was breathtaking - clear mountian streams, schist rock riverbeds, snow snow snow! Finally we arrived at Arthur's Pass for a pit stop. After peeling our white knuckled hands from the seats we jumped out and into the crisp crunchy snow. The tree bows sagged under their heavy white blankets ...

Nadat we uit Punakaiki vertrokken waren, moesten we toch eerst geld halen en boodschappen doen. Oudejaarsdag morgen, dus dat wordt mooi inslaan!<br><br>In Greymouth gestopt en aldaar ingeslagen. We hadden besloten om, na weken lang op "sandwichbrood" (zeg maar het goedkope vierkante brood uit de supermarkt) geleefd te hebben, eindelijk fatsoenlijk brood te gaan eten. En aangezien daar hier een tekort aan is, moeten we dat zelf bakken. Gelukkig had ik van de boerin ...