The area towards the north western part of the South Island is famous for its Greenstone (Jade), so after a stop at Lake Mahinapua to look at yet another beautiful reflection we made a brief stop in Hokitika. Hokitika is a big centre for Greenstone carving, although as we found out Sunday is not the best time to visit. Giving up on the greenstone shops we had the somewhat surreal experience of having a look around the National Kiwi Centre and wool shop! The title ‘National’ implies a professional setup, but what you get is a rather charming if somewhat homemade looking attraction that includes tropical fish tanks, an enormous eel tank, a very tatty pond area and eventually the Kiwi enclosures. It was the first Kiwi I had seen and nothing can prepare you for just how peculiar looking they are. The way they move is unlike any other bird I have ever encountered.
Back on the road we continued our journey to Greymouth which turned out to be, apart from Jade Country Greenstone, just as closed as Hokitika! After having a look round the quite interesting Jade Country exhibition we went to book a black water rafting and caving trip. Unfortunately the Dragon Cave Rafting office was closed but we managed to get hold of them on the phone and booked on for the next day.
Dragon Cave Rafting advertises the trip as the best black water rafting experience you will ever have. Not having done any black water rafting before, that would be hard for me to judge, but the whole thing didn’t start terribly well when we found out we were the only ones on the tour. This would have been fine but the guy on the phone had made a big thing about whether he could fit us in! After getting kitted out in lots of layers of thermals and wetsuits we set off for the cave, with two guides who had clearly modelled themselves on Cannon & Ball (replace this with any bad comedy double act you can think of). It was just as well we were wearing lots of thick layers or our sides would have surely split at their collective jokes! Personally I quite enjoyed the whole trip, but Debs is really not keen on dark caves, bats and not being able to see through misted glasses. When the main guide stopped trying to be funny, he was quite informative and came across as a nice guy; it was just a shame that he felt the need to be such an idiot (actual choice of word changed for any youngsters reading). When we made it back out of the cave, I had a go on a natural rock waterslide and we then headed back to the base for a cold beer and warming spa. I couldn’t say that I would recommend Dragons Cave Rafting to anyone after our experience, but if it sounds like your kind of thing and you find yourself in Greymouth then it may be worth a look.
Having had a look around the town centre that morning, we didn’t think that Greymouth was likely to have a terribly happening nightlife, so we opted instead for a quiet night in. Tomorrow morning we leave for Westport.
Back on the road we continued our journey to Greymouth which turned out to be, apart from Jade Country Greenstone, just as closed as Hokitika! After having a look round the quite interesting Jade Country exhibition we went to book a black water rafting and caving trip. Unfortunately the Dragon Cave Rafting office was closed but we managed to get hold of them on the phone and booked on for the next day.
Dragon Cave Rafting advertises the trip as the best black water rafting experience you will ever have. Not having done any black water rafting before, that would be hard for me to judge, but the whole thing didn’t start terribly well when we found out we were the only ones on the tour. This would have been fine but the guy on the phone had made a big thing about whether he could fit us in! After getting kitted out in lots of layers of thermals and wetsuits we set off for the cave, with two guides who had clearly modelled themselves on Cannon & Ball (replace this with any bad comedy double act you can think of). It was just as well we were wearing lots of thick layers or our sides would have surely split at their collective jokes! Personally I quite enjoyed the whole trip, but Debs is really not keen on dark caves, bats and not being able to see through misted glasses. When the main guide stopped trying to be funny, he was quite informative and came across as a nice guy; it was just a shame that he felt the need to be such an idiot (actual choice of word changed for any youngsters reading). When we made it back out of the cave, I had a go on a natural rock waterslide and we then headed back to the base for a cold beer and warming spa. I couldn’t say that I would recommend Dragons Cave Rafting to anyone after our experience, but if it sounds like your kind of thing and you find yourself in Greymouth then it may be worth a look.
Having had a look around the town centre that morning, we didn’t think that Greymouth was likely to have a terribly happening nightlife, so we opted instead for a quiet night in. Tomorrow morning we leave for Westport.
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