A Rivermouth Sans Kiwis and Glaciers by Air

From Hokitika we drove down the coast with intentions of ending our day's journey at Okarito. This stretch of coast (particularly from Greymouth south) is known as the last frontier of surf exploration in New Zealand. Along the way we took numerous detours in an effort to scope potential spots for the upcoming winter, however, it's a complicated stretch of coastline with no great ways to access what could be "holding." Most of it is national park and farm land only accessible by foot, boat, or trespassing. Adding to the allure are the endless points and bays visible on the map. The right bottom with that exposure to the Tasman...! I can only imagine. What areas we did see where amazingly barren stretches of beach with more driftwood piled up than I'd ever imagined. We'd check a spot, drive 30 minutes, check another and it looked the same as the last. Note to self: Need to get rich, buy a plane or helicopter, and thoroughly explore this area again. Either that or para-sail which Tim and I are talking about. We'll see on that one.

As we got further down the coast we happened to cross a bridge that carried us over the strangest shade of blue I'd ever seen. "What the hell was that?!?" Right as we were about to turn around we noticed a pull-off for an i site. That's another cool thing about New Zealand travel. Almost everywhere you go there are i sites. If there is more than 10 houses in a town there's an i site. There on all the maps and all the nearby road signs. These little gems provide a wealth of information regarding area offerings, weather, they usually have internet, and can book anything for you from accommodation to activities. A truly amazing invention. As we drove down the turn off for the i site we noticed the buzzing of a helicopter. We came to the could a sac right on the river and that's when it hit us. We're in glacier country, this must be glacial run-off. It's hard to describe just how different the color was. It was almost as if you took the bluest sky you'd ever seen and added a touch of milk and light. Radiant. We sat there, took a few photos, and watched some rafters come in when we were approached with one hell of an offer.

The owner of a site seeing company told us that he had two people booked on a tour of the local mountains/glaciers and that there were four seats. For him sending anything less than a full vehicle was just bad business and for doing him the favor of filling two seats he'd knock 40% off. Apparently the buzzing we'd heard was the transportation... How do you say no to that? Off we were on a heli tour of the local mountains and glaciers. Wow did that change my perspective of the local terrain! It was endless jagged peaks wrapped in huge ice flows. In every crack and crevasse were pools of crazy blue water. There were clouds forming and moving at amazing rates all around the area giving the feeling of the mountain being alive. It was almost what I'd imagine flying above a volcano would be like only this was ice. I don't know why it felt alive and volatile but it did. For the first time I feel like I know why mountaineers do what they do. I see the allure at that elevation. It truly was awe inspiring.

At the end of the day we made our way to Okarito and upon checking the beach found a perfect little river mouth to surf. The only problem, or potential problem, was that the waves looked the best of the other side of the river. Normally this is a no issue but this particular river was DUMPING water into the ocean at a rate which raised the red flag (at least 1/2 way up the pole): Can we paddle across this before getting swept out to sea? Tim and I, being men of brawn, decided to charge it. We walked way up the river, jumped in, and started paddling our asses off. All was going well and both of us were looking good thinking "no problem," when I noticed that the opposite embankment was not like the one we just left. It was not sandy, smooth, and gradual, no, it was made of pebbles that dropped vertically into the water. I have not seen a shoreline like this before. As I approached it I jumped off onto the vertical shore but as I clawed my way up pebbles just kept moving and moving, making it almost impossible to climb. While paddling we had drifted almost to the point where the river meets the ocean. I think our fear of getting caught in that current and our slight "concern" with Dante's shoreline prompted adrenal flow and subsequent shoreline summit. I still don't know how hard it was to climb. It just happened. Luckily the surf was really fun and consistent and the paddle back was onto a shoreline we'd come off of and knew it was easy. So yeah, surfed till sunset then made the long paddle back.

That night we cooked some dinner on the beach then remembered seeing a pull-off for a "Kiwi habitat" when we came in. The first park of it's kind that we'd seen in NZ. Understand this about Kiwi's. There's the fruit, the people, and the bird. The people are everywhere (obviously) and that term for them is fact. It's not rude and it's not overly endearing. They just are kiwi's. There's the fruit which, while in every grocery store and surely grown here, I have yet to see on a tree. This is duly noted however since their price in grocery stores is just right. Then there is the bird, the mother of them all, the flightless little ball of feathers that looks like something you just want to squeeze. If I'm not mistaken this is where the word "Kiwi" started. Funny thing about it. They are NOWHERE. Don't get me wrong, they do exist, but even most of the born and raised locals have yet to see them in the wild. For some reason I have a feeling I'll see one and have been ridiculed for that notion since arriving. "Suuuuure you will," is what I usually get. This "Kiwi habitat" was our chance!!! They are nocturnal birds so the time was right. Off Tim and I went. It was a short up-hill hike to the "habitat" and while we did hear them all around us calling to each other, we could not get our lights on them. A tricky foe this Kiwi is turning out to be! Luckily there was a large wooden platform at the top of the hike where you could relax and the benches were perfect for laying down and looking up at the always impressive New Zealand night sky. I saw a Kiwi alright, in the stars! Dammit I will see one on this trip!!!