Bev and Larry New Zealand 2012: December 14, 2012; Biking to Hokitika

After an early breakfast, we were shuttled to the Christchurch train station to board the 8:15 am TranzAlpine Express for our ride through the dramatic Arthur’s Pass, a small township in the Southern Alps, to the fishing village of Jacksons. Along the way we passed through the Canterbury Plains and traversed the gorges and river valleys of the Walmakariri River. All of the scenery was very spectacular. As expected, the eastern side of the Southern Alps was very arid and the western side quite lush with large beech trees and vegetation and also lots of clouds and mist. Along the way, we were given information about activities in the Franz Josepf Glacier area and selected the Heli Hike as our main activity.

We had lunch in Jacksons Tavern, which was the only facility in Jacksons. I had the salad with fish and Bev had the seafood chowder; both of which were excellent. Then began our cycling adventure. We cycled in a light rain through open farmland to Moana on the shore of Lake Brunner, which is one of the largest lakes of the West Coast lakes. Although we had an off again/on again light rain, the 32 km rain was through beautiful country and the New Zealand dairy farmland nestled the mountains. At Moana, the support van was available for snacks and water bottle refills.

In Moana, we had a choice to continue on to Taylorville on a 25.5 km optional ride or be shuttled to the hotel. I chose to continue on. This portion had similar scenery and included a few more ascents than on the earlier ride. This ride ended in Taylorville, which is on the Grey River, at Bucks Head Tavern. The Tavern was a very interesting place and had a Christmas tree mounted in a beer keg! The van arrived about 30 minutes later with those who didn’t cycle the last portion and, after people had a few beers, shuttled us to the Beachfront Hotel in Hokitika. Naturally, with the riding over for the day, the sun broke through the clouds. We did quite well biking and had a good time

Hokitika, which is located on the Tasman Sea, was a gold-rush boomtown in the mid-1800’s, with a main street once housing more than 80 hotels. There were some grand old buildings in colonial style, but the town is much smaller than it used to be. We were told that this will be our last “contact with civilization” until Queenstown and, if we wanted any wine down the road, to stock up from the local market, New World. Louis and I proceeded there and stocked up for the trip. I think the market did quite well with our group, because we saw everyone carrying back boxes to the hotel. The Beachfront Hotel is located on the Tasman Sea and all of our rooms were on the 4^th floor and overlooked the Sea. – very pretty.

Dinner was on our own tonight. Louis and Roxanna ordered food for the room. Bev and I went to Fat Pi-Pi Pizza and ordered a pizza to take to the room and dine overlooking the Tasman Sea. Tomorrow we will cycle toward Franz Josepf Glacier where we will stay for 2 nights.