Our journey to the sun - Greymouth, Hokitika Gorge, and the Pancake Rocks Blowholes

The ferry from Wellington to Picton departed at 9am. The check-in was an hour earlier. We left a bit earlier, so we were actually there before the official check-in time. But better early than late. Everything went smoothly. We showed our booking confirmation email and got our boarding passes printed, then joined the other vehicles to wait. Boarding started at 8:30am. We were guided into the ship's bow until everyone found a parking spot and the ship was full. Then we went to the deck where we spent the 3.5-hour crossing. It was relatively uneventful. Normal sea conditions, the weather was rather cloudy, and there wasn't much to see. A few smaller islands, but nothing worth mentioning. Upon arrival in Picton, it started raining again. Nothing new, well. We immediately set off, not knowing where to go. But there was only one road out of Picton (at least that's the only one we saw), so we didn't have many choices anyway.

Blenheim. Our first short stop. We needed something to eat and a few things from the hardware store, then we continued towards the West Coast.

Greymouth. Our second and so far our last stop for the day. It was already late, and we didn't want to drive in the dark. Firstly, the roads here are not easy, and secondly, you miss out on a lot of scenery. Here, you come across one beautiful viewpoint after another. So, I looked for a good campground nearby in my app and found one right away. $10 for two people for one night, including a warm unlimited shower (we didn't have to worry about that anymore and look for one), kitchen, and free laundry. It couldn't be better. We'll definitely remember that!

After a restful night, we set off again in the morning. We wanted to continue south along the West Coast.

Hokitika Gorge. A place with a special river. Often you see pictures where the water is not just blue or green-muddy, but dirty gray, milky turquoise, or crystal clear. This river was milky turquoise. However, it can also be crystal clear or dirty gray. That depends on the weather and the amount of rock powder in the water. Fascinating to see something like this live. You could reach this river through a small forest, which consisted mostly of ferns, and across a suspension bridge. Along the way, you could catch a glimpse of the river from time to time, increasing the excitement. Then we finally arrived. Unbelievable! Depending on the position of the sun, the water reflected different shades of turquoise. Beautiful! After an extensive photo session, we started our way back. In the car, we discussed what we could do with the rest of the day. Where do we even want to go, considering we'll have to look for work soon. We then decided to drive north along the West Coast and work around Nelson. Once we have saved enough money, we'll drive along the east coast heading south.

Pancake Rocks Blowholes. That was our next and technically last stop for the day. After that, we just wanted to go to a nearby campground, but more on that later.

The Pancake Rocks. Why pancakes? Well, if you stack pancakes on top of each other, they are supposed to resemble these rocks, or the other way around (but that's splitting hairs). In any case, it was the highlight of our day. The view was a dream, and we were even lucky that the sun was setting. Photo session 2.0 was in order. Among all the Chinese tourists there, I hardly stood out anymore, as I pressed the shutter release so many times.

It was slowly getting darker. But we still wanted to arrive at the campground while there was some sunlight left. So, we had to detach ourselves from the unique scenery and continue driving. And then the realization hit us. The 'nearby' campground was an hour away. Great, what did Svenja mess up this time (even though it was my fault, but Svenja can handle it now. But let's keep it between us, okay?). Anyway, there was nothing free nearby, so we had to endure the hour-long drive (nothing like two cheapskates who'd rather drive an hour to a campground to sleep for free instead of paying $30 for a night at a nearby paid campground). Well, our free spot was on the way, so at least we'll save ourselves the hour-long drive tomorrow. When we arrived at our supposed sleeping spot... Oh people, you know what? We saw the pit toilet, which was full of flies and stank all the way to Teletubbyland, and we immediately turned around and drove off. The whole two hours, because there was nothing else for camping. Because of the 'toilet'. But that just wasn't possible, I'd rather dig a hole myself and..

On the halfway mark of the two-hour drive, we realized that we didn't have any water left. At least we still had our bottles to refill, but where? At least there were occasional motels and paid campgrounds along the roadside. So, I stopped at one and asked the receptionist nicely if we could fill our bottles since we had nothing to drink anymore. He replied bluntly, ''Yes, for $15 per person. We only allow people to use the water if they stay overnight and pay the full price!'' I immediately took out my credit card and bought the whole shebang. He's sitting on the road now. He better not come to me if he needs anything... Just kidding, what's up with that? To refuse for 2 liters of water, or rather demand $30 for it. There must be a reason why I haven't seen a single guest there..

So, we drove on for a while and then bought a 6-liter container from the supermarket. For $5! That ogre can go bury himself in the woods with his $30.

Alright, now we're all calm again and forget about the matter.

It's been almost 2 hours now since we arrived at a campground near Nelson, and I'm writing this article. Tomorrow, we want to go to Abel Tasman, a mountain that now only takes us an hour to reach instead of four. So, our driving around ended up being good for something after all.

People, $30 for water!? This isn't the Schweiger's...