We drove from Picton to Hokitika today to set ourselves up for the glaciers tomorrow. The road trip would have been 5 hours non-stop but naturally we stopped a little bit to take in the scenic beauty.
We picked up a hitch hiker Phil from Germany who was bound for Greymouth (in our direction). He is a journeyman… meaning a crafter (cabinetmaker in his case). As part of his post-apprenticeship worldly experience he has to travel the world for three years and one day (while working) with certain rules in place:
- Starting with only EUR5 in his pocket.
- Never paying for accommodation (exceptions allowed while overseas)
- Never paying for transport (exceptions allowed while overseas)
The whole idea is to see the world and get to know people while honing his trade skills. It was good to see traditions living on in this fast changing world … he also wore his traditional costume and carried a walking stick. We stopped and showed him the sights along the way, namely at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.
Naturally, we engaged in conversations with our guest … Kim started talking about Omaka and the World War I aircraft but I had to discreetly remind him “Don’t mention the War!”. Much like Fawlty Towers, for those of you who are familiar.
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- Brief stop at the Nelson Lakes on the way to the West Coast.
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- Kim with our German hitchhiker.
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- Rugged beauty of the West Coast.
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- Ain’t the scenery gorgeous?
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- Lush greenery at Punakaiki.
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- At the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.
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- See how they’re stacked? Beats IHOP.
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- More pancakes.
