We followed the coast north out of Franz Josef. Our first stop was the beach town of Hokitika. We ate lunch there by the beach near some interesting driftwood sculptures and little artist shops.
Next we drove inland about 40 minutes to the Hokitika Gorge. This was an amazing spot where mineral-rich glacial meltwater mixed with powdery eroded rock in a river flowing through a white granite rock gorge. The result was the most amazing turquoise color water ever, contrasting with the white walls and green forests surrounding it. A nice trail crossed the river on a suspension bridge and continued a little further along with several wonderful view points.
Afterwards we drove back to the town of Hokitika and continued up the coastal road. The ride was scenic as it navigated along the coast, crossing several rivers and carving through several cliffs and valleys. Our destination was Punakaiki, which is known for its unusual pancake rock formations. These limestone layered rocks have been eroded by the sea into interesting stacks, columns and caves. We stopped by the formations late in the afternoon to view them in the sun.
We stayed just a few minutes further up the road right by the beach. We got there in time to have supper watching the sunset (albeit a cloudy one). We found a gentleman selling whitebait patties from his food stand named Pete’s Pattie Palace in the campground. We had to try one since it is a local delicacy, we loved it! Whitebait is really small fish that are caught in November as they congregate at the mouth of the river waiting for the tide to push them into the river where they can go upstream to spawn. Fishermen use nets to catch them by the bucketload. They mix them with some seasoning and scoop them into a hot cast iron pan to fry them into little patties. They are served on toast with a little lemon juice and salt. Delicious!
The next day was rainy, so we took it as a rest day. We caught up on laundry, trip planning, picture sorting and some blog writing.
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