Up in the morning and out of the shabby backpackers before nine. I start walking into town, to have a look at the non-restaurant bits of Christchurch, but change my mind a block later. There's an art gallery, but I'm not in the mood, there's the giant purple sperm in Cathedral Square, the sign for which suggested that it did something from 10 til 4, but I can't be bothered to hang about for over an hour. Probably there's an explanation on the web somewhere, but I've yet to look it up. Except now I have.
So turn round, back to the car and West. The plan is to strike out for Arthur's Pass, one of the few routes through the Southern Alps, go tramping, get a bed for the night and then press on the next day for the coast.
Impressively windy (in both senses) roads lead up to the mountains, but by the time I'm up there it's pouring down. The i-site guy says it'll probably stay this way for two days, and that even the easy tracks are flooded. Doesn't seem worth hanging about, so press on.
A lookout point a few miles after the Arthur's Pass settlement has a firm instruction 'do nor feed the kea', but sadly there are no vampire parrots to be seen.
The weather clears a bit as I beetle through Hokitika and on to Franz Josef YHA.
supper in what Lonely Planet describes as an English Style Pub, which suggests their writer's never been in a pub (though I only read the entry later) and there for revelation. Let's be honest here - Kiwis make very good wine, especially white, which tends to be all I drink. Their beers on the other hand are generally a bit meh. Generally all on one level. Nice taste with the first mouthful, but no depth. Montieth Radler on the other hand is amazing. Light, zesty, exciting. This is by a country mile the best beer I have drunk out here.
Tomorrow the Glacier.
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