Anyway, we took our jilted-selves from Franz Josef and headed north along the west coast. The trip went relatively fast because our view of the coast was clouded; literally, the rain and fog descended into the area for an extended stay.
The first stop along the way was the town of Hokitika. After some grocery shopping and a nap in the car by the ocean (again clouded by fog), we visited a relative of the Miller family who lives in town. He, Peter Kettering, is a transplant from the northeast US and is the brother of my dad’s brother’s wife. If you’re like me, you’ll probably need to map that out on paper.
He and his partner, Vicki, were extremely hospitable. They treated us to a quick tour of their intimate home, extensive gardening, and delicious muffins. More important, they graciously entertained our interests in their experiences in NZ, California, and the rest of the World. Interacting with locals and their living situations breathed fresh air into a trip dominated by tourists.
The second and last stop was the sleepy “beach” town of Punakaiki. Similar to most of this leg, fog prevented the vista of, what we were told, resembled northern California. No worries. The hostel we booked turned out to be a diamond in the rough. And by “rough” I mean dense rainforest about 150 meters from the ocean.
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