Ishicilelwe: 22.12.2023
I'm driving on from Wanaka. The weather is nice, the sun is shining and it is warm. I drive through the mountains and gorges. I see wonderful blue water and also a waterfall. I'm not sure if I've written it before, but I've thought it often: the fact that I drive is both a blessing and a curse. If I didn't drive, I would take photos all the time - the nature is just so beautiful here and the wonderful blue of the rivers and lakes, I just can't get enough of it.
As soon as I drove over the pass, the weather changed very quickly. Clouds are gathering and getting thicker. I don't see any mountains anymore. Today I wanted to go to the glacier, at least take a short hike in that direction. When I'm just before the glacier, the visibility is so bad that it makes no sense to hike to the glacier. Because even with the hike, the glacier is still a long way away. 🤷🏼♀️ There's another glacier coming tomorrow.
When we arrive at the camping site, it really starts to rain... The campsite offers a short hike to see glowworms in the evening. Regardless of whether it rains - I pull myself together again, I still need something nice this day, since I couldn't see any glacier.
The fireflies are in a rainforest very close to the campsite. The young woman who leads the tour shows us all the spots of the fireflies, they sit everywhere, but especially in dense bushes. So many and the longer you look, the more you can see. Great. The trip was still worth it! The photo looks similar to my attempts to photograph the starry sky here 😅.
The next day we continue. But it's still raining and visibility is even worse. The hiking app even gives a weather warning due to heavy rain and recommends not to go on a hike. Great. And again I miss the glacier. I can't wait for nicer days or to come back either. I simply lost too much time waiting for the camper at the beginning of the trip. So I drive past this glacier without having seen it.
When I arrived in Hokitika, I really couldn't stand being in my camper any longer. I have to get out, I have to run! So put on your rain jacket, rain pants and hiking boots and off you go. Take a walk around the town and quickly buy something. Two hours later I get creative and try to dry my clothes in the camper. Rain pants go over the steering wheel, rain jacket over the passenger seat and the fan heater can move into the camper and heat it up properly...