Tuesday April 20th, 2010
Rata Lodge -> Hokitika -> Franz Josef
And it was beautiful.
In the morning light, the mountains and the clouds seemed to meld together perfectly. The air was fresh and cool and I drank it in with delight.
We said our farewells to our new friends from Israel as they headed out on the road before us. Apo and I had breakfast and perused through the guest book of the backpackers (Rata Lodge was the name).
After we packed up, I went to the owner’s lodge and gave it a knock.
Last night I didn’t get a clear look of the owner, so when he came out, I was pretty surprised. A white guy in his fifties with dreadlocks opened the door. He was wearing a wool jacket that looked really old and comfortable and somewhat…Jamaican?
“You guys sleep allright?”
“Yeah, we did. It was very comfortable, thank you.”
We said goodbye and made our way to Hokitika, a coastal town just north of the glaciers. We passed more beautiful mountains and animals (deers, cows, and of course sheep) before arriving into the quaint town of Hokitika. The town is famous for its Jade Museum and Hokitika Gorge, about 20 km southeast.
Also, their fish and chips are the bomb. There’s a shop just next to the Jade Museum that sells $5 fish and chips and according to Apo, “These are the best and cheapest fish and chips I’ve ever had.” I tasted some of hers and indeed they were darn good.
After a quick lunch we drove to Hokitika Gorge, stopping on the way to take some photos of llamas. They are so cool. I wanted to run over to them and hug them but I contained myself.
At Hokitika Gorge, the first thing I noticed was the water. Aquamarine blue. When I was young, this was my favorite color. I used to believe that somewhere, out in the big wide world, this color must exist, be it in the ocean or forest lakes of an unknown region. But as I got older, I thought that that was a silly notion, and that such colors were manufactured artificially in a lab to gain more market share in the cutthroat color industry. But here it was, in ready supply, just flowing through this gorge. The child in me smiled.
I went to the water and cupped it in my hand, but the color disappeared. So I put it back. Nature is most beautiful when we enjoy it as it is instead of trying to grasp it firmly between our hands. While at the gorge, a South Island fantail kept flying around Apo, as if dancing around her.
After the gorge, we began our drive to Franz Josef. We got there in the evening, checking into a cheap hostel (Montrose Backpackers). The problem with very cheap hostels is usually that they’re full of cheap people and this place was no exception.
While cooking in the crowded kitchen, a girl yelled at me for using the sink while she was using it. What happened was that she was scrubbing a cutting board off to one side of the sink, while letting the water run. I saw that she was not using the water and I rinsed a spoon while she was scrubbing.
“Hey. I’m using the sink.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to rinse this spoon.”
“You should ask first or say excuse me.”
The thing is, she’s right, I should’ve at least said excuse me. But she was glaring at me and was saying this to me in a very rude manner and my girlfriend backed me up.
“Do you have to be so bossy?”
“I’m not bossy, it’s rude OK?”
Then she left.
Lesson: Be careful in a crowded area not to step on other people’s toes. Some people have certain pet peeves about personal space and its always best to first ask before doing an action that enters someone else space.
Putting that behind us, we looked forward to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers tomorrow.
DT: 39.9
RDA: 101.77
RT: 915.95
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