Day 15 :: Long Haul South on Hwy 6
Today was a day of recovery after 2 days of kayaking... and by "recovery", I mean it in the Jude-sense. That is, wake up at the break of dawn and head south to the town of Franz Josef Glacier which is 500km or 310 miles. For those of you that are geographically-challenged, that's longer than a drive from LA to Las Vegas, or New York to Washington DC. The only difference is that it's a one lane road for each direction with more twists-and-turns than a pretzel.
This drive took me from warm sandy beaches and over the front range of New Zealand's Southern Alps. I passed through the towns of Murchison, Westport, Punakaiki, Greymouth, and Hokitka. In Punakaiki, I stopped by the "Pancake Rocks & Blowholes", which are limestone formations (cliffs and arches) that stand on the edge of the sea by the crashing waves that formed them. Near the carpark ("parking lot" for Americans), there was a grassy lawn where I woman was sleeping. A nosy weka - a native flightless bird and cousins to the kiwi - pecked at her hair and backpack while she slept.
At Hokitka, I stopped for some ice cream and browsed through a shop called Jade World where jade carvings were made. On the way out, I happend along 2 hitch-hikers just where the town meets Highway 6. They didn't look like killers, and for the remaining 160km it was nice to have some company. So I stopped along the road and met Jonny (from England) and Valeria (from Munich, Germany). They threw their guitar, packs and food in the back and we were on our way. It turned out they were also on their way to Franz Josef, so it worked out perfectly. Each of them had been travelling in New Zealand for almost 2-3 months now. Jonny in fact had been travelling for more than a year, mostly in Austrailia. We told eachother stories of our adventures during the ride. Coincidentally, Jonny had also met Vladimir Yarets in Austrailia! (This was the same deaf-mute motorcycle traveller that I met in Auckland on Day 2 of my own journey.) What a small (traveller) world we live in. We exchanged numbers, and might join for the ride down to Wanaka and/or Queenstown after my 2-night stay in Franz Josef.
This drive took me from warm sandy beaches and over the front range of New Zealand's Southern Alps. I passed through the towns of Murchison, Westport, Punakaiki, Greymouth, and Hokitka. In Punakaiki, I stopped by the "Pancake Rocks & Blowholes", which are limestone formations (cliffs and arches) that stand on the edge of the sea by the crashing waves that formed them. Near the carpark ("parking lot" for Americans), there was a grassy lawn where I woman was sleeping. A nosy weka - a native flightless bird and cousins to the kiwi - pecked at her hair and backpack while she slept.
At Hokitka, I stopped for some ice cream and browsed through a shop called Jade World where jade carvings were made. On the way out, I happend along 2 hitch-hikers just where the town meets Highway 6. They didn't look like killers, and for the remaining 160km it was nice to have some company. So I stopped along the road and met Jonny (from England) and Valeria (from Munich, Germany). They threw their guitar, packs and food in the back and we were on our way. It turned out they were also on their way to Franz Josef, so it worked out perfectly. Each of them had been travelling in New Zealand for almost 2-3 months now. Jonny in fact had been travelling for more than a year, mostly in Austrailia. We told eachother stories of our adventures during the ride. Coincidentally, Jonny had also met Vladimir Yarets in Austrailia! (This was the same deaf-mute motorcycle traveller that I met in Auckland on Day 2 of my own journey.) What a small (traveller) world we live in. We exchanged numbers, and might join for the ride down to Wanaka and/or Queenstown after my 2-night stay in Franz Josef.
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