The town of Franz Josef is a cute little town where most people there are tourists, and the only people living there work in the tourism industry. At dinner last night, we joked that it is probably the same guys working in all the shops and restaurants. This morning, it was proven….our motel chap said he saw us in Blue Ice and told us what we ate! He was serving there helping out his aunt! No wonder he had recommended it, though he also recommended all of the other three restaurants in town!
As expected with a glacier right there, the town is right next to a river, however across the years the silt in river has built up so much that it is higher than the town, with the need to keep building up the sides. Sounds a little dangerous, but I’m sure they are monitoring it.
A quick goodbye to our favourite glacier and North we head.
Okarito, a cute little seaside village, off the beaten track, with a wetland and other walks, and of course a gold rush history of which the wharf remains.
Their evening kiwi tours have a 95% success rate. That’s going on my list for when we move to Queenstown!
A brief stop at Ross, another goldmining town, though they think there is still $700 million of the gold still there, so you can pay to try panning.
Next stop, Hokitika Gorge with a beautiful blue-green river thanks to melt water from the glacier above.
Weirdly, the other end of the bridge said 2020!
A quick stop in the town at the end of the river.
The pancake rocks did not disappoint. Made from limestone a lot of years ago, however, like the shell groto, they have absolutely no idea how they came about!
There are also blowholes where the waves have created caves and then broken through the roof. The tide was out, so will hopefully be more impressive on a pop back tomorrow.
Goodnight!
Heather and Mark's travel blog 
Looks fantastic, H! Glad you’re having such a great trip! 👍😍
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