South Island 2 - Glaciers, Pancake Rocks, Surfing

On to the second week of the trip! When we arrived in Arthur's Pass National Park, it was getting dark, and we decided to find a place to stay. It was freezing outside, so we ruled out camping, but the hostels and motels were too expensive. Then we stumbled upon a little cabin called "The Sanctuary", with a phone next to the door which rang the cabin owner in Christchurch when I picked it up. The owner was very friendly. He gave me the passcode to the cabin door, and explained that he operated his sanctuary on the basis of trust- he gives the passcode to travelers who ring him, and trusts that they will leave fifteen dollars in the Honesty Box inside. What an awesome system! There were two German travelers already staying in the Sanctuary, and we spent the night stoking the fire, enjoying some wine and chatting while Jake played the guitar; it was a very nice night. The next day we did a short hike to a waterfall before taking off for the west coast. As usual, we came across tons of sheep on the way:



By the time we arrived in Hokitika on the coast, we had just enough time to set up our tent on the beach and enjoy the sunset. The next morning Nikki and I went into town and went shopping for New Zealand greenstone necklaces, which are hand-carved in Hokitika. Greenstone is a big part of New Zealand and Maori tradition, and we'd both wanted a necklace for a while. Greenstone necklaces are traditionally given as a gift, and the variety of shapes signify different things. Nikki and I bought necklaces for one another; each was in the shape of a Koru, which is a spiral which signifies new beginnings and growth.

Afterwards we headed to the Franz Josef Glacier in Westland National park. I was considering getting a guided tour through the glacier and in between the crevasses, but I didn't have the money for the tour and crampons, so instead we hiked right up to the glacier and enjoyed the (FREE) view:



Afterwards we headed back up the coast and grudgingly set up our tent. Nikki and I wanted to sleep in the car, but Jake convinced us to set up a tent by the beach in spite of the sand flies and rain. It was ultimately worth it in the morning, when the rain took a break and the sky was covered in rainbows for the rest of the day. We headed further up the coast to Paparoa National Park, where we saw the famous Pancake Rocks, which are a series of layered rocks that remain somewhat of a geological mystery.




We continued on to Karamea, where a woman at the visitors center told us about some of the less-traversed beaches up the coast, in Kahurangi National Park. The one beach that caught our attention from her description was Scotts Beach, which she said was a secluded beach that would "make you feel like you were Robinson Crusoe, alone on an untouched and empty beach". Of course, that was all we needed to hear. We headed all the way up the coast, crossed a bridge, hiked part of the Heaphy Track through a mountain, and arrived at our little abandoned beach. And it was beautiful, isolated, and one of nicest places I've ever been. There was even a nice big boulder to climb!









There was also an awkward wingless bird that looked like a distant cousin of the kiwi, and it walked directly up to us, hung around us most of the night, and tried to eat my finger!



The next morning we took a long trip to the east coast, to a nice beach town called Kaikoura. The drive took us almost the entire day, so we ended up checking into a hostel and relaxing the rest of the evening. We got up the next morning, psyched about our surfing plans. Jake got a short board, and Nikki and I rented long boards, which we barely managed to squeeze into our car. Oddly enough, Jake is from Michigan and Nikki and I are from California and Hawaii, but he is a much more experienced surfer than either of us- so much for locational stereotypes. We surfed on Kaikoura beach, which was gorgeous, but rocky:



It's technically called a "black sand beach", but the black sand is actually just black rocks. The place further down the coast where we actually ended up surfing had huge boulders, so I needed to dive off the board before I got anywhere near the shore (that is, if I didn't fall off the board already). I managed to stand for a few seconds, but I didn't manage to do anything too fancy. I hope to surf more over the summer, especially since I'm lucky enough to live by the beach.

We spent the evening at the Whaler, the local pub, before turning in. We woke up the next morning, packed, and headed up to Picton, where we took the ferry in to Wellington. I was bruised from surfing, completely bitten up from the sandflies, dirty from my lack of showering, really sick of trail mix and salami, but happy as a clown. I made so many memories on this trip that I will never forget. The South Island was breathtaking, and it had a really friendly smalltown feel- people smiled and waved to us as we drove around the island. But returning back to Wellington also felt like coming home. I also realized that this was probably my last big trip before the semester is over, and I felt simultaneously disappointed and elated. I've grown very attached to this country, but my time's running out. I'll be cheesy and compare my study abroad experience to life; part of what makes it so special is that it's fleeting.