Heavenly Hokitika

Hokitika...what a beautiful name for a cool beach town in a gorgeous part of the world!  It's at the same latitude as southern Oregon, and the coast is similar in appearance and climate.  A delicate beauty prevails.

The locals have used some of their driftwood to construct whimsical sculptures at the seashore.

A little civic pride here...blow up the pic and it becomes evident that the wood spells HOKITIKA

Yeah, for sure!  Sign in downtown Hokitika.

This is Hokitika gorge.  Wow!  The turquoise water is colored by glacial silt from the nearby Southern Alps.  I've seen rivers of this color before, but they were in Canada, in alpine settings.  To see this water color in a lush, green temperate rainforest was stunning!

A swinging bridge spans the gorge.

Strolling the beach in the evening (sunset around 845 PM) I came upon this stump...looks like a tree grew on the spot long ago...probably not.  But the effect is a bit surreal.

Another shot of the gorge...too lovely!

I'm staying right on the beach in one of the duplex cabins behind our Simmental neighbor, who is enjoying a dinner of fresh green grass.