The following items are from our trip along the West coast of the South Island. This coast is typically very wet and somewhat a little wild.
Greenstone
Now anyone who knows a Kiwi will almost have certainly seen a piece of Greenstone hanging around their neck. This stone somewhat symbolizing their connection with the earth and to some extent the Maori history of this island.
Now like all things, we didn't just want to buy a Greenstone from one of those terrible tourist tacky shops - we wanted to make it a little more 'difficult' for ourselves. Therefore having arrived in the, somewhat rundown 'capital of Greenstone' called Hokitika, we set-up camp in the local pub and begun asking the locals. It wasn't before long that we had a tip from a somewhat intoxicated local that her cousin Aidan had a little workshop in his back garden and might be able to help us out. So, off we went the following day to cousin Aidans house and found him hard at work in his workshop in the back garden.
He was so helpful and we actually got to choose the piece of Greenstone out of which our pieces were going to be carved. He also stencilled our designs into the rock (see below) so we could choose which colours from the rock would be seen.
The final result was just amazing. Look out for us wearing them in some of the future pictures.
Pancake Rocks
A bit of a 'tourist trap' but something you just have to see if you are in the area. These limestone rocks have, over the centuries, been manipulated by the heavy seas and heavy winds to give the impression of layers of pancakes...
Actually very impressive and seeing them at dusk gave them another dimension.
Inland Pack Track
I don't know how she does it but Monika had also found some sketchy details about another Tramp called the Inland Pack Track which started close to the Pancake Rocks. This track was an old inland track which had been used for centuries by the Maoris to walk up and down the West coast transporting their Greenstone, chickens etc.
So having checked the weather forecast and river levels off we went again heading up a valley into the hills...
After a good 4 hours of walking and having not seen another single person we stopped for a quick lunch and James decided it might be worth reading some more about this track and looking at the detailed map of the area. As we studied the lines of the map and located our position in the mountains and run a finger along to where we were headed for the night we could not help but notice that the map indicated high bluffs (cliffs) all along the route. We double checked our coordinates and came to the realization that, as there were bluffs either side of us and no room for a path, we would literally need to walk in the river all the way!!! ... so that's exactly what we did!!!
Our destination for the night was a 'rock overhang' which the book described was so big that it was nicknamed the 'ballroom' and you could fit two houses underneath it. The book was not wrong - this piece of rock was amazing. We changed out of our wet clothes, pitched our tent under the overhang and cooked a well deserved hot meal.
I think the look on our face says it all - we really enjoyed this one !!!!!!!!
Karamea
When you are on-the-road you are always taking mental notes of places people describe. The Karamea region was a place that only one, adventurous, couple had mentioned to us but this was enough to prick our interest. After reading some more about the area we were convinced - although it was a one-way road and a massive detour we stocked Vivian with enough food and went for it...
The feeling of remoteness and isolation was just overwhelming and the views... Wow!
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