How to get there
Hokitika is a little town on the west coast of the southern island. It’s located 3 hours from Christchurch, and we had an amazing scenic view through the Alps. After Castle Hill, the road becomes curvy, narrow, and sometimes steep.
We passed by Kura Tawhiti and stopped briefly. I love this place. It has a profound feeling of Maori history, and you can feel it.
We cross Arthur Pass National Park, Arthur Park Village, where we found an exciting coffee with statues of Gandalf and Gollum. New Zealand uses the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as tourist attractions.
About Hokitika
We finally arrived in Hokitika. That night, we went to eat some local food and went to take a look around the Cool Little Town.
Hokitika is a fantastic place right on the shore of the coast on the island’s west side. After merging with the Whitcombe River, the Hokitika river flows into the Tasman Sea (the water portion between New Zealand and Australia).
Some history
At Sunset Point, the history marker says that reaching the Hokitika shore was problematic for the boats coming from Australia with prospects of miners. Every ten days, from 1865 to 67, there was a collision, grounding, or shipwreck. So, out of the 108 unlucky accidents, 32 vessels were wrecked, 21 of them in 1965. By 1966 Hokitika had an average of one wreck every ten weeks. These numbers are incredible. According to the historical marker, it says:
“Some Vessels stuck fast going out, many were ground coming in, while others were beached due to pilot error, or by towlines attached to the busy tugs breaking as the ship was being towed over the bar. Schooners who lost the wind at a critical moment were soon flung up on the spits; steamers with fire doused by heavy seas met the same fate.”
Most of these resulted from human error or lack of navigation knowledge; however, the north/south river entrance forced ships to enter almost broadside to the sea.
Around Hokitika, you can find activities and places to visit, like shantytown. For Shantytown, plan to spend at least 2 to 3 hours.
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”
