West Coast of South Island, New Zealand
January 1-5, 2015
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Heading over from Wanaka to the west coast, we drove over the Gates of Haast, which is a steep canyon with what looks like a wicked kayaking run. We had dinner in Wanaka so by the time we went over the Haast, it was pretty late, almost getting dark, so we looked for a place to camp. We found a great campsite by the river, but it was on soft sand, and we managed to get Nellie stuck! :) After almost an hour we managed to free her from the sand and we settled in for the night. But while we were getting the van freed, we experienced the famous west coast sandflies come and attack us full force... it wasn't pretty. They're super tiny, but much harder to feel and kill than mosquitos, hence much more obnoxious.

The weather on the west coast wasn't awesome, so we didn't make too many stops, apart from the usual Fox Glacier, etc. - but our ultimate destination was Hokitika. We stayed the night there, and in the morning we drove to the head of the Toaraha valley. We hiked up to the Cedar Flat hut, which followed the beautiful river valley, though much of the time we were in the trees without much of a view. The hike wasn't the prettiest but we were rewarded with some awesome hot springs there, and we camped right next to them! :)

Next: North of the island, and Kaikoura

  Driving to the west coast by Lake Wanaka  
  Driving to the west coast by Lake Wanaka

  Driving through Haast Pass  
  Driving through Haast Pass

  Gates of Haast  
  Gates of Haast

  Fox Glacier tourist trap...  
  Fox Glacier tourist trap...

  Hokitika, cool west coast town  
  Hokitika, cool west coast town

   
 

   
 

  Parking lot for Cedar Flat hut  
  Parking lot for Cedar Flat hut

   
 

   
 

  Toaroha river  
  Toaroha river

  Beautiful hiking by the Toaraha river  
  Beautiful hiking by the Toaraha river

  Toaroha river beauty  
  Toaroha river beauty

  Pretty crappy trail, so 3 miles take 4-5 hours...  
  Pretty crappy trail, so 3 miles take 4-5 hours...

   
 

  The new Cedar Flat hut  
  The new Cedar Flat hut

   
 

   
 

   
 

  Crazy suspension bridge... Old Cedar Flat hut  
  Crazy suspension bridge... Old Cedar Flat hut

   
 

  A creek by the hot springs...  
  A creek by the hot springs...

   
 

  Setting up camp as the sand flies start arriving (they were horrendous at dusk and dawn)  
  Setting up camp as the sand flies start arriving (they were horrendous at dusk and dawn)

   
 

   
 

  Interesting colors... some people were gold panning in the area too :)  
  Interesting colors... some people were gold panning in the area too :)

  This helicopter showed up out of nowhere, landed here and the pilot went for a little walk... random What is this I don't even..??  
  This helicopter showed up out of nowhere, landed here and the pilot went for a little walk... random What is this I don't even..??

   
 

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