Hokitika 🪨

After a very intense Christmas week, we unexpectedly went to a hostel in the middle of nowhere 10km outside of Hokitika. On the way there we looked at the Pancake Rocks. It's a very touristy 20 minute walk but still pretty cool to see. After a far too expensive but delicious scone we continued along the west coast to Hokitika. The views along the coast were truly breathtaking. The waves are just too good to surf (once you've surfed you'll never look at the waves the same way again 😅). When I arrived at the hostel I first thought to myself, OK, what exactly am I going to do for 3 days? The afternoon was spent on the beach and caught up on some sleep. In the evening, a long sunset walk couldn't be missed. I was rewarded with my first jade stone, which Hokitika is very famous for, and an incredible sunset. The next day I actually motivated myself to hitchhike towards the city for the first time. Less than 10 minutes later I was already in the car of 2 really nice New Zealand grannies who were taking a trip to Hokitika. In the city I looked around at all the jade galleries and took a walk along the beach. Since Hokitika is known for its artists, the beach is also full of driftwood art pieces. We then took a hitchhike taxi back to the hostel, this time a real New Zealand farmer on his way to fish. This day ended with a campfire on the beach. Unfortunately the weather the next day wasn't so nice anymore so we spent the morning in the hostel. In the afternoon we went out again to explore the lake opposite the hostel. Since I was already wet from the rain, I decided that I might as well go swimming. A short planned swim turned into a long, exciting conversation with a local hippie who was trying to keep fit by windsurfing. So 3 very uncertain days initially turned into 3 very good and eventful days. Nevertheless, the peace and quiet in the middle of nowhere felt really good! I then went on to Franz-Josef, so since there is of course no bus, all I could do was hitchhike. And I had one of my best experiences and definitely fell in love with hitchhiking. I was taken by a Scot who has been living in New Zealand for a long time. On our way we stopped by his friends (hippies as you imagine them) for a cup of tea. He showed and explained to me the rest of the west coast up to his home. We stopped at one or two beautiful lakes so that I could take a few photos. In the end I even got to meet his family. I definitely didn't expect such an experience at first! 🫶🏼