The South Island—Hokitika to Fox Glacier, February 19, 2025

Hokitika to Fox Glacier, February 19, 2025

Except for the hour we spent walking Hokitika after coffee and a cinnamon roll this morning, it has rained buckets all day. That means we didn't see Mt. Cook and the Franz Josef Glacier on our drive here. More importantly, we won't see Fox Glacier either even though I reserved a room at Sunset Motel for two days in tiny Fox Glacier, because every room has a patio with views to Mt. Cook and this glacier. Unfortunately, rain is forecast for today and tomorrow, the entirety of and reason for our visit here. Oh well.

We'll see if we can sneak in the 3 mile Lake Matheson walk if the rain holds off anytime tomorrow. The plan was to take some walks along the Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier and drive out to Abut Head and do the three mile Okarito Trig Walk, because it promises a panorama of the Southern Alps and Mt. Cook. But the mountains are shrouded in clouds beginning at about 500 feet; so much for panoramic views of the Southern Alps. Meanwhile...

This clock tower, dedicated in 1903, stands in the roundabout in the center of Hokitika. We were surprised to find that Hokitika, officially established in 1865, is still a thriving coastal town with local shops, galleries, restaurants, hotels, and a New World and Woolworth—two major grocery chains. After breakfast Wednesday (Feb. 19th) we dropped into the iSite office to ask about the town's economy. We were informed that gold is stilled mined, that the timber industry is important, there's a meat processing plant, a creamery that employs over 800 people, and that the town mines and provides Pounamu, a high quality green jade (sacred to the Maori), to most of the world. Who knew?

We asked for Stumpers Cafe's largest flat white and we got it!

After coffee, we took this walkway to the...

..beach through this exhibit.

I love the title of this photograph!

I love that this is a bench in the shape of a book.

Local resident on the green just before the beach.

Not-so-local overlooking beach.

Driftwood tents seem to be a thing all along the beach.

This one resembles a Duwamish Longhouse.

The drive to Fanz Josef was leisurely...but no mountain.

Summer world wide is road work time.

We stopped in Franz Josef to stretch our legs and ended up ducking into Full of Beans for a flat white while waiting out this deluge before pushing on to Fox Glacier.

The view from our Fox Glacier room at 3PM.

The view from the yard back to our room.

The video from our room at 5:30PM.         

Fox Glacier, February 20, 2025

The rain stopped this morning around 6AM and is supposed to hold off until 2PM, so we decided to walk Lake Matheson. And as we were warned by our server at the cafe this morning, the weather may unexpectedly change. She nailed it. Half way around Lake Matheson the rain started, and by the time we finished our walk, we were soaked. But it was still beautiful.

What, blue sky at 7:30AM?!

By 9:30AM we saw some of Mt. Cook.

30 minutes later the clouds are back.

 

When you read this, note how views are highlighted. Well, not today.

The South Island flightless Takahē is everywhere.

 

The suspension bridge at the start of the walk.

This walk reminded us of the Hoh Rainforest.

This flax plant is 7 feet tall.

Red Pine, prized by loggers.

Note how straight the Red Pine is.

Lake Matheson. Um where's the Mt. Cook reflection?

Fox Glacier pic taken from Peak Viewpoint.

Clearwater Creek

We have crossed many bridges like this...

...and some were way longer than this one. You get used to it.