Anyway, by noon I was at my next destination, Hokitika. It too grew up in the 1860s as a result of the discovery of gold and was at one time quite an important port. It is also known for its pounamu, also called greenstone or New Zealand jade. Pounamu was used to make weapons and tools by the Maori. There are a large number of jade stores and carvers in Hokitika. So perhaps not an accident that I went there!
Hokitika street scenes
The demand for jade is sufficiently large that some of it is brought in from other countries (Canada being one) and some of it is carved in China. In this way they can offer a lower cost alternative. But most of the shops in Hokitika pride themselves on using NZ greenstone, and local carvers. It's a good deal more expensive, but also authentic.
Hokitika is rather a sleepy little town (population 3,000) and seems relatively unaffected by tourism. One gets the sense that people who live there do so very happily. I was only there from noon one day to noon the next so didn't have time to do much more than check out the jade stores, walk around a bit and visit the museum. The following picture is of an exhibit I particularly liked. It's the tombstone of a dog who died in 1903 who apparently delivered groceries. Gotta love it!
In ways being in Hokitika was like going back in time several decades. The only pharmacy I saw in the town had no hours posted and was closed by noon Saturday when I arrived and not open on Sunday. But I'll bet if anyone in town needs something urgently they probably know how to contact the pharmacist.
Hokitika is on the coast and I was told that lots of tree branches and such get washed ashore. So much in fact that a few weeks before I arrived they had a contest to see what people could create from it all. Much of it had been washed away but there were still some interesting creations remaining.
Hokitika twig art
By noon on March 8 I was on the bus for Greymouth and then the TranzAlpine train acrooss to the east coast, and Christchurch. This train is listed as one of the tourist "must dos", so how could I not. The route the train takes goes through mountain ranges. This meant building some lengthy tunnels, and the odd viaduct. What a job it must have been to construct that rail line. It was interesting to see how the mountains changed from west to east. In the west, where they get 5 metres of rain a year, the mountainsides are covered with trees. In the east they get only 1.5 metres of rain a year and the mountain tops have very little vegetation.
View along the train's route
My time on the south island's west coast is over. Such a rugged and remote area of NZ. And I think it helps to be waterproof.
