From Arthur’s pass, I drove over to the west coast. I stayed at a lovely beach-front hostel in Punakaiki. When it was high tide, I took a walk at the Punakaiki Rocks — a series of rock formations and blowholes along the beach. I loved seeing the water crash against the rocks and watching all the blowholes was so cool! My favorite was the Chimney Pot, where the waves forced water up into the inside of the rocks and it was pushed out a small hole as vapor, which looked just like the steam on a giant tea kettle! The next morning I took a hike along the coast at Motukiekie, which can only be done at low tide. I explored some tide pools and saw the rock towers. After my hike I enjoyed a restful afternoon in the hostel. The following day I headed south and stopped at the Hokitika Gorge. This was my first sight of the beautiful blue of the water that comes from the glaciers. The rock dust causes the glacial melt water to take on a cloudy bright blue. So beautiful! I arrived in Franz Josef planning to hike on the glacier the next day. My plan was thwarted by rain, and I ended up spending the day in the hostel doing some trip planning for my time in Australia. I was overjoyed when I woke the next day to a clear morning! I got to take a helicopter up to Franz Josef Glacier and hike for three hours on the glacier!! I want to share a lot of photos from that experience so it will get a separate post.