Beauty really does not benefit from being shrouded - or missed altogether.
Overnight I awoke a number of times to hear heavy rain on the cabin roof. While it made things feel cozy for sleeping, we soon learned it also made things too rough for our planned caving adventure. So instead of riding rubber tubes through caves with glow worms we remained dry and warm and set out for Frans Josef.
Our early morning drive along the west coast had all the hallmarks of being spectacular. For example, the road closely hugged the shoreline, bordered on one side by lushly wooded cliffs and on the other by the wild foamy sea: craggy, jagged rocks poking out between the waves. And yet we could only partly see glimpses of it due to the shrouding of fog.
Our first stop was Punakaiki or pancake rocks which also boasts a blow hole. Being there so early meant we had it all to ourselves. A short walk on a very well-manicured track set up for wheelchairs brought us close to the amazing rock formations.
The blowhole made some deep throaty noises, but the tide was out, so we did not witness its shot of water. Instead, we enjoyed the formations and the many sea birds swirling and calling above the noise of the surf. This was certainly a beauty we would not have seen if we had been able to undertake our caving adventure.
We stopped in for supplies at Greymouth, an interesting town which obviously provides work for people on the west coast but does not offer too much for tourists. Samuel and Eric tasted some very average pies and we drove on to Hokitika. There we found some interesting shops and spoke with a Jade craftsman. Samuel asked some insightful questions about how he dealt with mistakes, how long he took to learn his craft and where he sourced the jade from. We learned that there is a flood of cheap Chinese jade in New Zealand - buyer beware.
Delicious sandwiches at a lovely local store made for a satisfying lunch.
We drove on through the rain to Franz Josef. The glacier has receded a lot even in the 10 years since we were last in the area. After waiting in the car for the rain to abate we strode out. Needless to say, once we got there the clouds had crowded in again and not only was the glacier shrouded, but we also got soaked on the way back to the car.
A day of obscured beauty.
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