The last entry

It had been our intention to do a final post to the blog with our reflections of our three weeks in New Zealand. The news this morning about the earthquake in Christchurch has very much concentrated our minds. Our thoughts have to be with the people of the city and the terrible consequences of such a natural disaster.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12533722

It has been a very salutary thought for us both that if the earthquake had occurred exactly a week earlier, we would have been almost at the centre of the city. We are seeing on our TV screens the remains of buildings which we were admiring at that time, most specifically Christchurch Cathedral Tower, and recalling our thoughts about not having the time to climb it and how we would add it to our list of 'things to do' on the next visit.

And we will be going back. We have had an incredible holiday, seen places and done things that we could only have imagined doing before, met some wonderful and interesting people, travelled roads and byways that had surprises around every corner and relaxed and revived ourselves in one of the most beautiful countries on the globe.

There will be highs and lows to be remembered.

The highs; the Kauri Museum; Waimangu Thermal Valley; the Wellington to Picton Ferry; Wearable Art in Nelson; Whale watching; the Hokitika Gorge; Arthurs Pass.

The lows: Maui; Cyclone Wilma; State Highway 2 over Rimutaka Hill, North Island (although Sue loved this and said her worst low was feeling incredibly seasick whilst doing the whale-watching!)

As you will see, the 'highs' have it!

And we think the thing we shall remember most is the wonderful, warm and friendly Kiwis, who were always ready to do more than help, were interested to hear all about you and what you were doing and to send you on your way with recommendations and good advice.

We intend to spend much longer there on our return trip. We believe that eight weeks is potentially the minimum period. We feel we have had to rush many things, missed out on a number of places, not got 'into' the country as much as we would have liked and spent too little time wandering. But all this can be righted and the three weeks has given us a marvellous “taster” of life in NZ.

We hope you have enjoyed visiting New Zealand with us through this blog as much as we have enjoyed writing it and it is something we will have as our record of the trip to look back on in the months and years to come.

However, we have to end on a sombre note and are sure you will join with us in thinking of those people in Christchurch who are having to recover their lives and their city after the events of the last few hours. We wish them all the strength to carry on.

Last Days in New Zealand (2)

We had noticed, when we had checked in, that the hotel provided a free bus pass into the city centre.  We felt that as we did not have to be at the airport for checking in until 2.00 p.m. we could spend the morning in Christchurch looking around the centre. So after breakfast, we vacated our room and left our luggage at reception. We checked out having arranged to return around 1.00 p.m. for their shuttle to take us to the airport. The staff could not have been more helpful and made our last day of the holiday start on a high note.

The bus ride was a pleasure as both of us could watch the world pass by without having to worry about our route or the other road users. The 'end of the line' was actually in Cathedral Square and just across from the start of the Christchurch Tram circular tour, which we had decided would be one of the easiest ways to see as much as possible in the short time we had available. It was very interesting to discover that the trams had been reinstalled after an absence from the streets of Christchurch for around forty years and the system is currently being extended.

We were provided with a running commentary on the places we passed. There was the very stunning concert hall, 

the Arts & Crafts building we had seen the day before and Hagley Park. We also crossed the River Avon, twice, but did not see anyone actually in a punt. We passed Queen Victoria's statue, the driver said it had been erected three years after she had died and that is why she looked so unamused (little did he know she looked like that when she was alive as well!!). Part of the route was through the tram station, a covered area with shops and cafes. 

When the tour was finished we went back to have a cup of coffee and watch the trams pass by the window.

We walked back in to Cathedral Square and took in the various buildings surrounding the square. Sadly one of the most attractive had been seriously spoilt by the installation of large Starbuck's signs. Bert did manage to take a photo which excluded these signs but does not really give you a true impression of the building.

 It was incredible to look down one of the city streets and see mountains! 

One of the most stunning items we saw was the millennium ice cream cornet, which depicted a number of native NZ plants and only one of several pieces of street art around the centre of the city.

All too soon it was time to set off back to the hotel and then make our way onwards to the airport. For our final morning in New Zealand, our experience of Christchurch could not have been bettered. Next time we come we will spend more time in the city looking more closely at all its treasures. The journey back on the bus took us along a different route and we saw some of the buildings that had been damaged by the earthquake, looking very sorry for themselves, boarded up and behind fencing to protect passers-by. It would seem that these repairs are going to take a long time. We saw headlines expressing concern about the lack of progress but with the amount of damage that has been caused and the finite resources of people able to carry out the work, then such delays are likely.

We were quickly back at the hotel and the shuttle was available immediately so within 45 minutes of touring Christchurch City centre, we were sitting in the departure lounge of the airport waiting to be called for boarding. It promised to be a long wait, as we had to be checked in three hours before the flight was due to leave but the time began to pass more quickly when we fell into conversation with a couple travelling to Shetland, where they live. Their way of life was fascinating and we found we had much in common, eventually continuing our conversations at Sydney and Bangkok airports, on our short stopovers, by which time we had exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch. 

Bert was intrigued to see the United States Antarctic Program hangar at the edge of the airport. He says to excuse the tail of a plane in the middle of the photo but he could not persuade the staff to move it for him!

Although we had breaks in the journey at Sydney (where the man on the Emirates desk spoke a very strange dialect of 'gabble' – must have trained at a British railway station), Bangkok and Dubai none of them were long enough to do anything other than walk for about 20 minutes before climbing back on board and bid farewell to our new friends, who were staying in Dubai for a few days. However we can recommend flying on the A380 double decker jumbo - our flight from Dubai. An excellent ride, comfortable seats and plenty of room. We had hoped to sneak a look 'upstairs' but we weren't allowed!

Last Days in New Zealand (1)

Well, we got that wrong didn't we! This entry is being started in the departure lounge of Christchurch Airport. Don't panic – we did stay in our hotel last night but after a long day sightseeing, returning the 'van and enjoying the luxury of a stationary room unaffected by the wind (and with a proper bed!) we decided that you would forgive us a day off from the blog. We hope this entry will make up for the delay.

We had spent some time after our arrival at the Christchurch campsite trying to fit everything we had brought with us and bought in NZ into our luggage. Not an easy job and needless to say this was not the last time we did it! We also went through the 'van deciding what we could consume in the next twelve hours and what we would have to dispose of before departure. We found we had not bought much that we had not used at all, the main exception being a roll of rubbish bags – we found those given away at the supermarkets served the purpose – but at around $2.00 we felt there was not a great deal of waste. We were obviously not the only ones with this dilemma as a very nice lady from the Netherlands who was in the next van to us tried to give us lots of cheese and other things the next morning!

We decided that we would not rush to return the 'van but drive into Christchurch in the morning and have a look around the city, assuming we could find somewhere convenient to park. We had been given a map of the city by the campsite and having looked at that, decided that a run in to Hagley Park (named, you will have guessed, after Hagley Hall in the West Midlands) would be the simplest; places to park the 'van and also the Park contains the Botanical Gardens. It was originally laid out to be the boundary between Christchurch and the countryside – urban development has overcome that ambition but the Park still retains its original dimensions and is regarded by the vast majority of the population as sacrosanct.

It was strange to think as we left the campsite that it was the last time that we would be doing that. We have to say that we have found the campsites we have used to be universally much more than acceptable. The facilities at some were old, some brand spanking new but all were extremely clean, accessible and convenient. All the campsites had communal kitchens with good cooking facilities and utensils and crockery, so that we could have cooked all our meals without using the 'van's facilities if we had so chosen. We felt very much at home on the sites and it was rare not to strike up a conversation with someone on site and pick up hints and suggestions about places to see.

Anyway back to Christchurch. We found Hagley Park without any real difficulty and found a large car park where we could stay (without charge!!) for three hours. We walked in to the Botanical Gardens and found the rose garden. 

This was quite a culture shock to find a glorious display of colours and blooms in the New Zealand equivalent of August when in the U.K. most roses are done for the year. 

We had to walk through a wonderful display of dahlias to reach the roses and Sue could not believe that both were in full bloom, at the same time! 

We met a Canadian student who was working in the rose garden who told us that the roses have new flushes of blooms all through the summer. It was wonderful and the scents were lovely. The scale of the rose garden did not match that of Portland's rose gardens, or some of the rose gardens in the UK but the displays were certainly their match.

After a cup of coffee in the Gardens tea room, we briefly explored the gardens information centre and had a very interesting chat with the lady there about re-cycling (but that is another story.) We then walked through the gardens to the city itself. 

Bert wanted to go to Cathedral Square to photograph the Cathedral and it is, incredibly, only about a ten minute walk from the middle of the Botanical Gardens to the centre of Christchurch.

However that walk took a lot longer than we had planned for, as we crossed the road heading towards the city centre, we came across the Arts and Crafts Centre. This is in the mainly Gothic buildings of the original Christchurch University. 

When the University moved out to its new campus the site became the showcase of the arts and crafts of New Zealand and, more specifically, the Christchurch area. There are shops, studios, cafes, restaurants, workshops all included within the buildings. Bert assumes that a lot of the readers of this blog will realise that he went and took the photographs of the Cathedral on his own and it took him a little time to find Sue once he returned! 

However what we did leave the Centre with was a piece of original art as our personal memento of our trip to New Zealand.

Whilst we were there we got into conversation with a lady who was manning the Weavers and Dyers shop. (Sue only bought a little wool and as she says, it didn't weigh very much) This lady had come to New Zealand some 53 years ago and had stayed ever since. We got to talking about the recent earthquake, as the Weavers and Dyers had had to move out of their original premises (The Observatory) in the Centre, as it had become unsafe and will have to be completely rebuilt. The group is very concerned as to whether, when the repairs are done, they will ever be able to return. She also told us that it was being said that a further significant earthquake was forecast for March at 8.0 on the Richter scale – the September 'quake was 7.1. (There were 18 measurable, minor tremors on the two days we were in Christchurch although we didn’t feel any of them.) If you want to track the details of the 4,749 tremors since 4^th September 2010 then go to

http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/

After the three hours we returned to the 'van and drove out to our hotel for the night to drop off our luggage (which now only needed one final repack!) and then 5 minutes further to return the 'van. We have to say that the hotel was above and beyond our expectations. http://www.commodore.net.nz/ The service was excellent. We went on to drop off the 'van to an uninterested Maui employee who noted our comments about the 'van without any response. He did ring the hotel however and arranged for the shuttle bus to come and fetch us! (At least we would be off the premises.)

We had a very pleasant evening in the hotel. We ate in their restaurant which was excellent. A good choice of menu, good service and pleasant surroundings.

Up, up and away to Christchurch

Why is it that every time we have to set out on a long journey the weather gives us a wet and miserable send-off. We feel certain that Cyclone Wilma sends some of her left over rain clouds to keep us company. A reminder that just because we have had better weather on the South Island it may not last for ever! And so it was no surprise that we were woken this morning by rain hammering down on the roof of the 'van.

However, we actually left the campsite in a slight drizzle, which had disappeared within a few miles, although we did get the occasional reminder all the way to Christchurch. The cloud was there the majority of the way and we actually climbed into it and, indeed, through it on one occasion.

The road from the west coast to Christchurch, SH73 (also known as the Great Alpine Highway) is commonly known as Arthurs Pass and rises there to 924 metres/2,800 ft

which is higher than the Lewis Pass (912 metres/2,750 ft) and which we traversed some days ago. The highest point of this road is actually Porters Pass (945 metres/2,850 ft). It is a fantastic route to follow and if we thought our crossing through the Lewis Pass was spectacular then this road today certainly topped it. The mountains, still as green as ever, rise straight up out of the ground; no foothills at all, or at least we did not see any until we were well down the other side. We began to see large areas of shale on the tops of the mountains as we climbed higher and higher and the temperature dropped steadily. The road twists and turns; hairpin bends and ninety degree bends are a given, with sheer drops to the valleys below. In between the climbing we crossed vast, wide glacial plains, evidence of what happened here thousands of years ago, for the glaciers have been gone from this northern part of the Southern Alps for a long time.

Sir Edmund Hillary apparently did his training on the Southern Alps before having a crack at that old chestnut, Mt Everest.

The trip has improved immeasurably for all travellers since the construction of the viaduct which crosses the Otira Gorge (replacing the “goat-track” and making the road accessible to campervans at last.) This is an incredible piece of civil engineering, 

which we sadly could not really appreciate as the weather had closed down on us when we reached that point and we were driving through low cloud. The link attached shows it in its true glory.  (http://davidwallphoto.com/images/%7BE1563D0B%2D98E8%2D4D3B%2D9A1D%2D471C44A4DFE3%7D%2Ejpg)

However on a fine day the views must be great.

We stopped any number of times to take photos

and to let the traffic that had built up behind us get past. The attitude of the overtaking drivers is one of gratitude that you have done the right thing, rather than complaints of motor vans being a nuisance. This encourages you to look for opportunities to let people pass! It is obvious that Clarkson is treated with the correct level of disrespect in New Zealand as he is now in Mexico!

We did actually stop in the 'town' of Arthurs Pass. Not somewhere we would want to stay for a great deal of time, as it is literally between the sides of two mountains and we doubt the sun touches the ground very much, even on the best of days. We had a cup of coffee and then moved on. However we did see two Alpine parrots (keas) there.

We made very good time and decided to stop and have some lunch in a really nice little town called Springfield. The eating house we chose was the Yello Shack Cafe which sold 'Yummy Homemade Food' and it was! We were able to sit outside and eat our lunch in some glorious sunshine.

Rather than driving straight down in to Christchurch and our campsite, which would have really told us that our holiday was ending, we turned off down the SH77, named the Inland Scenic Route. We parked at the side of the Waimakariri Gorge for a while to watch the waters roll past 

and then moved on to Oxford. Having visited Cambridge earlier on North Island, we decided we ought to go for the double. We have to say that, of the two, Cambridge was much more interesting.

Our final stop was in Rangiora. We got out of the 'van and had a walk through the town. Believe it or not we found the (amazingly large) library was open, on a Sunday, and it was packed with folks of all ages. The range and selection of books was most impressive and they also provided free WiFi, internet connections and a host of other facilities. There was also a small room for exhibitions and we were able to have a look at paintings by local artists.

Entering Christchurch was a bit of a rude awakening. The volume of traffic was very high, certainly compared to what we had found in our travels in South Island to date. It was very well behaved but being strangers in the town made the finding of the campsite interesting! We have to say we have quite embraced the idea of GPS after this holiday and doubt whether some of our travels would have turned out so well without the electronic voice telling us where to go. To her credit, she never led us wrong once, although she was inclined to have a hissy fit if you didn't obey her instructions to the letter!

So now we are coming to the end of the final posting of the blog from the campervan, as tomorrow we return it to Maui (not without some relief – the water heater has began exploding again and we have been without hot water for three days) and our next entry will be from our hotel room at the Commodore Hotel, Memorial Avenue, Christchurch. Quite what will be in that entry we don't know but that has been the story all through this holiday. Each day has brought its own surprises and tales to tell.

Hokitika - Day 2

Our second day in Hokitika did not start too early as we had quite a lie in. We had booked a second night on the campsite, so had no need to rush to be off our pitch, unlike others who we heard moving away very early. It was our last opportunity to remain snuggled under the duvet for a few days, as tomorrow we will need to start early for the 260 kilometre/150 mile over the mountains ride to Christchurch.

We had decided that we really wanted to see some kiwis (the birds not the people) before we leave New Zealand and as there is a Kiwi Centre in Hokitika we made that our first port of call. The site also has displays of eels, whitebait (the real thing not mini-herrings) and indigenous frogs. Photographs were not allowed, they are nocturnal birds and therefore flash lights are not conducive to their well-being. However we are pleased to say we did see two kiwis, which are under constant threat from stoats, weasels, possums, cats and dogs – all of which were introduced into New Zealand. The kiwi has no natural predators other than these - the dangers of unintended consequences!

We then had a walk around the town looking at various buildings, 

followed by a walk on the beach to view the beach art constructions, from the art competition that took place during January. All of them have to be made from items found on the beach. As there is a lot of driftwood and large flat pebbles, as well as the usual flotsam and jetsam, there were a lot of Andy Goldsworthy lookalikes. As an aside, we are finding it incredibly frustrating that everywhere we go we have either just missed, or are too early for a very interesting activity, exhibition or performance! We will have to be more careful with our planning on our next trip. Anyway back to the beach art! We attach photos of some of the exhibits, others had obviously suffered from the ravages of weather, time and tide and human interference.

We bought some possum merino socks (Bert) and a possum merino hat (Sue) in a store where we finally had an explanation as to what possum merino actually is. We have seen signs at a number of places and couldn't quite get our heads around it. We came up with a number of explanations; a new breed of sheep (small, sleepy, doesn't move a lot), a new breed of possum with wool rather than fur (well, you've seen pigs with curly hair haven't you?) and any number of alternatives. It is, of course, quite straightforward. The yarn is 40% possum fur, 50% merino wool and 10% silk. Simple really!

After some lunch, Sue went off to visit an exhibition of sock making equipment (which she reported as being rather uninspiring and with unengaged staff, which was quite a surprise) whilst Bert went to the local bookshop. The cost of books in New Zealand is remarkably high. Quite why we are not sure; to be fair we do well in the U.K. as there is no VAT on books. If that was applied then perhaps books would not appear quite so cheap!

We were overwhelmed at our next stop which was a crafts store run as a cooperative by the artists and craftspeople who produced the items on sale. The quality and range of material was very impressive. Jewellery, jade carvings, paintings, silk, wooden carvings, weaving and much more. We could have bought any number of things but I don't think our baggage limit with Emirates would have coped.

We arrived back on site tired, ready for a cup of tea but very satisfied with our day's activities. And they weren't over yet. We had another evening walk on the beach and tried our hands at our own beach sculptures. No doubt they would not win any prizes but we enjoyed ourselves. 

And then, as dusk became night we walked across the main road outside the campsite and visited the glow worm dell. It was magical. Neither of us can recall seeing glow-worms before but to see pinpoints of light on the side of the dell and trying to understand that these were live creatures creating this spectacle was quite inspiring. The technical explanation, bio-luminescence, really does not capture the beauty of it at all.  

Hokitika Gorge and Lake Kaniere

Today started well and continued to get better. The sun was shining as we got up and continued to do so all day. It had been a cool night but nowhere near as cold as the night at Punakaiki. We did all our chores after breakfast and then set off on our exploration.

When we had arrived at the site the night before the proprietress had strongly recommended that we should visit the Hokitika Gorge where the Hokitika River squeezes itself out of the mountains on its way down to the coast to give the town its name. It was a very interesting drive along an enlarged grid of roads where you drove for at least a mile in a perfectly straight line and then turned 90 degrees for the next mile long straight. We guessed that this area had only been measured out comparatively recently and so the road system had been laid out rather than evolved.

The valley floor is very level and the mountains seemed to just appear out of the valley 

without the need for foothills; they not only seemed to be that way from a distance, they were actually like that when we reached them. The car park for the short walk to the swingbridge across the gorge must have been at least three kilometers/two miles from the nearest habitation and some 35 kilometers/20 miles from the town. There was a short walk, through what we felt was very ancient forest, to the first viewing platform and then another five minutes downhill to the swingbridge.

Although the lady at the campsite had told us the water would be the same colour as Sue's t shirt we were amazed to look down the tranquil gorge and see it full of milky, turquoise blue water, surging along to reach the valley.

Whilst we were walking back we saw a small bird flitting amongst the trees in very close proximity to the path and, indeed, to us. Despite our best efforts we couldn't manage to get a photo. It was about the size of a sparrow but with a beautiful fanned tail. This was not used in flight as such but appeared to come into use when moving amongst the leaves and branches of the trees. The fanned tail, when open, was very light coloured, almost white in fact. It seemed to be extremely busy and we watched it for a short while; its speed of movement could be followed with the naked eye but was beyond either of our camera skills!

We drove from the gorge, round Mt. Harry (family take note here), to Lake Kaniere. We even managed to cross the Styx River on the way but no-one asked for payment! The road eventually deteriorated from a tarmac surface to an unmade, loose gravel surface which led us up from the valley. As you will appreciate we did not see much other traffic on this particular road. We stopped to admire Dorothy Falls

 before finding a stopping place literally at the edge of the lake to have our lunch. We have to say we saw another of the fantailed birds at the Dorothy Falls stop and, again, attempted to take a photograph. We are attaching the best (!?!) of them.

(Can you spot him/her?)

We had great fun sitting outside in the sun eating and watching a small group of ducks go about their normal business just in front of us at the edge of the lake. 

It was nice to see this happening without the ducks coming and scavenging for food from us. While we sat the wind changed and we could see white horses on the lake and hear small waves breaking on the lake shore. We were sat where a small stream entered the lake but you could see from the contours in the lake bed that at times significant volumes of water would come down the mountainside behind us, bringing rocks and soil with it to deposit in the lake. Another thing that has surprised us is how far up the mountainsides the forest goes; on smaller mountains it appears to go right to the top.

We completed our drive round the lake by talking a short walk into part of the forest that surrounds the water and, indeed, grows right down to the waters edge. 

The foliage includes phormiums that grow to significant sizes with their roots almost in the water. Horticulturalists among you will know that when such plants grow in the U.K. they like drier conditions. We put it down to the mildness of the climate, so the plants have no fear of frozen roots. Despite the closeness to the Southern Alps, no snow falls here. The other thing we noticed was the amazing number of ferns growing at the pathsides, not just tree ferns but many others.

We feel we have had a really satisfying day today, doing what we would like to do more of the next time we come. We seem to have stayed on the tried and tested routes on our journey through New Zealand, seeing many wonderful things (none of which we would have missed) but rather feel we have not seen a lot of the real New Zealand, which is out there as we discovered today. The parts that are not necessarily on the tourist maps.

We have come to a different camp site for tonight, still in Hokitika, closer to the beach, so Sue can have her coastal fix for the day, walking on the beach at sunset. Fortunately it also has wi-fi so this entry should be with you by the time we get to bed tonight.

Punakaiki to Hokitika

It was a cold night! Even the locals don't expect temperatures down to 5C in February! Certainly Maui don't equip their vans with winter bedding at this time so we ended up sleeping in fleece socks and fleece tops during the night. But after our exertions of yesterday and our final walk on the beach we were able to get a good night's sleep.

Now, don't anyone tell Jennifer (we may e-mail a confession but only after we get back home) but we have decided to revise the last few days of the trip. Unbelievably we have to be back in Christchurch on Monday, ready to fly home to a bracing Shropshire on Tuesday. But we are not downhearted as we still have three whole days to fill. Jennifer had us driving down to Franz Josef Glacier today and staying there overnight. In the light of last night's temperatures and the fact that Franz Josef is another 120+ miles further south (in New Zealand that means closer to the Antarctic!) we decided that we would just drive down as far as Hokitika, which is some 40 kms (c.25 miles) south of Greymouth and is the arts and crafts centre of Westland. If we do decide to go down to the glaciers then it will be a day trip from there.

But first things first. The purpose of going to Punakaiki was to visit a rock formation known as Pancake Rocks. These are layers of eroded limestone that give the appearance of being stacked one on top of another, just like a pile of pancakes. It was less than a kilometre from the campsite on the way to Greymouth so we were there pretty early. We didn't leave for well over an hour, as the rocks with the sea bursting into them, the wildlife, the vegetation and the views could not be looked at quickly. Unfortunately the tide was on its way out and the rocks with various blowholes are at their best with an incoming tide, literally reaching their peak at high tide. However there was enough evidence at the time we were there to appreciate the glories of the scene.

We stopped in Greymouth on our way through to fill up with diesel. We have to say that it was salutary reminder, when we saw a sign outside Westport which advised that there was no more fuel available for the next 100 kilometres, that it is as well to fill up when you can. The west coast is not an area you would wish to experience if you have an empty tank! Whilst we were at the pump we got into conversation with a NZ local at the next pump. He wanted to know whether we were having a good holiday and gave us advice on what to see and where to go in the remaining time available but accepted our point that they would have to appear on our 'what we shall do in New Zealand on our next visit' list. His recommendation was at least an eight week trip!

We had seen signs at various times on our way down the coast (we are sure you are getting bored with being told how wonderful the scenery is so we won't say it) about a place called Shantytown. This is a village created from old buildings being gathered together (a little like Blists Hill in Ironbridge) to create a town from the late 19^th/early 20^th century and tells the story of life in a gold mining town of that time. There was a shortlived goldrush here for a while and many people moved into the area hoping to make their fortunes, including quite surprisingly, a number of Chinese people.We decided to make a visit and were very pleased we did.

We even had a short trip on a steam railway which followed the course of an old logging line.

 We also visited the various buildings which included a hospital, library/reading room, school and railway station. It is really great to see that New Zealand history is being honoured rather than hankering after what happens elsewhere and how it is then reflected in New Zealand. 

We had an interesting conversation with one of the conservators about what is being thrown away in New Zealand which should be preserved. She was not talking about the activities of institutions but of individuals. Mind you, that can be said of anywhere I am sure. One of the specific items that is disappearing is what she described as 'primitive furniture', viz. furniture put together from spare timber etc. until such time as 'proper' furniture could be purchased. She believes that most of such items have been burnt.

After this we completed our journey to Hokitika and found our campsite. Of all the places we have camped for the night on this trip, this was the most disappointing. The facilities were very clean and tidy (as they have been without fail everywhere we have been) with scalding hot showers and even a hairdryer but the actual pitches were poor and uncared for, as was most of the holiday park (campsite in UK-speak). There were certainly no views such as those we have almost come to expect wherever we stay, although the fact that we were right next to the local milk processing factory should have made us feel right at home! Needless to say we took no photos!

We drove into the town and had dinner, rather surprisingly, at the Cafe de Paris. This was excellent, we both had Filet de Cochon, which was very well presented. As we drove back afterwards we discussed what we were going to do over the next couple of days, (other than find another campsite) and made the decision that we will not venture any further south but explore the country around Hokitika tomorrow and then see what delights the town itself has to offer on Saturday.