Circumnavigating The South Island of New Zealand – Hokitika

Hokitika New Zealand at Sunset

I have recently travelled again to the country of New Zealand. This time for an extended period on the South Island.

I circumnavigated the Island, with my wife of 44 years, Linda, by vehicle. The country remains, in my eyes, a place with welcoming people and landscapes of surprising variety. The terrain in New Zealand presents giant mountains filled with enormous glaciers to long, wide beaches, to deep, misty fjords.

Multiple weeks and thousands of kilometers of driving and hiking reaffirmed to me that this place and its people will reward visitors at every turn.

Hokitika

There is a place on the journey for which I knew little. It is on the west coast of the South Island and is called Hokitika.

Most travel books portray Hokitika differently from what I experienced. It is an engaging white-sand beach town. Hokitika is unpretentious, yet sophisticated.

The townspeople are exceedingly friendly. One shopkeeper took the time to point me to each of the stores where I could buy physical maps, a computer mouse, travel – size toiletries, and pretzels. The front desk clerk at our hotel made our room available to us 90 minutes sooner that originally promised. She took the time to track us down and tell us the room was ready.

Given the uncluttered nature of the beach, the sunsets can be spectacular. The glow in the sky at sunset possessed deep reds, oranges, golden yellows, and blues.

Hokitika Real Fire Station Next to Fire Station Restaurant

Hokitika At Dawn

Hokitika Gorge

The Hokitika Gorge from dawn through early morning is what locals will tell you is the prize.

They are correct. Hokitika Gorge is about a 45-minute drive from town. During the drive, the setting changed from beach town to pastureland to agriculture land to river gorges to mountains with glaciers.

The glacial blue of the water in the Hokitika Gorge from the Swing Bridge is an experience like few others. The number of different shades of blue seem impossible to count.