Day 12 Hokitika

It's Saturday and raining heavily. First thing in the morning, head to the Dump Station in Westport to get rid of waste water and fill up the camper with fresh water. The first highlight of the day comes unexpectedly. Spontaneously turn behind Westport to the Seal Colony. There I also meet the Spanish people from Abel Tasman again. We all had a good laugh. It seems Karawera wasn't so great, so I didn't miss anything.

The second highlight is reached after a short drive in the early afternoon. The Pancake Rocks look like freshly baked pancakes stacked on top of each other. I am well informed and there at the peak of the tide, there are also so-called blowholes, where water shoots up when a high wave rushes in. The spot is quite touristy, with some photographers with tripods. One of them immediately offers me a spot in the middle, the best spot, it was really very surprising, like so many things in this country.

In the afternoon, I arrive in Greymouth and explore two Freedom Camping spots. Both are beautiful, but there are gusts of wind forecasted and I don't want a wobbly car to sleep in tonight. So I continue to Hokitika, a cool seaside town. I arrive in the twilight and am warmly welcomed at the reception. I am also immediately scheduled for later to visit the Glowworm Dell. No, this is not the village disco, but one of the most beautiful glowworm caves in the world! Around 10 pm, the receptionist = glowworm guide and a few other guests and I depart. You can visit it alone as well, but then you won't get any explanations. The Glowworm Dell is overwhelming, thousands of little glowing dots in a small cave-like valley with very dense tree coverage. Definitely the third highlight of the day. It starts raining, but I still stay there alone for a few more minutes to take photos. The group is already gone. And then the announced rainstorm arrives at night.