November 26th & 27th - Let's get wasted and learn about Whitebait!

Hoping that we would be able to stay a second night at the Kingsgate Hotel in Greymouth (because it's luxury having a bed, a hairdryer, electrical outlets and a bathroom with a shower, especially when it's raining and super windy...call me a princess...whatever!); I called the front desk upon waking but they confirmed no availability. :(  I asked if there was some event happening this week to be fully booked for a Tuesday night in Greymouth.  (Fyi, although Greymouth is the largest town in the west coast region on the South Island with a population of 9940, it is reminiscent of an old western ghost town.)  She said that there wasn't anything but "just a lot of Asian tourists as it's getting into our busy season."  Double sad face :( :(     I climbed back in bed.  Harrumph.  Wishful thinking they would call me back and say, 'oh, we actually do have room'.... And guess what???  They did just that not even 5 minutes later.  Woohoo!  MAGIC!!!  :)

Awesome tomato soup and toasted croissant w/eggs & bacon.

So on that note we got up, (I put make-up on for the first time in 2 weeks because I knew I could have a hassle free shower before bed) and headed off for breakfast to a place around the corner called Ali's.  It was more cold and *rainy than we expected so we hurried there as I had blow-dried my hair the night before.  The coffee was good and really strong, and breakfast was hearty and tasty!  I would say this is the best breakfast and *coffee we've had thus far.
 

Still rainy and blustery, we finally had to suck it up and buy an umbrella which we found at The Warehouse for $20; then stopped by Monteith's Brewery (our sole reason for staying in Greymouth) to register for the 6:00pm tour.  With that taken care of we headed off to Hokitika, which is the next town south about 30 minutes away.  En route we saw Elk but it took us a minute to register what we were seeing. 


Hokitika is a cute little town on the water, known for many arts and crafts shops, studios and factories as well as it's sunsets (on clear days unlike today).  Hokitika is also the home of Greenstone. (New Zealand jade)  Ventured into a private artist's jade store and saw some pretty amazing hand made jewellery which was well out of my price range but still nice to look at.




On the way back Ryan got an idea for some pics and stopped at a rocky beach where the rain let up just long enough for him to capture some cool shots!  My favorite one is in color.  It looks like someone poured a glass of creamy milk over the rocks, but it's just the waves crashing into shore.  Ryan loves the b&w one.  Cool!
 

The Monteith's Brewery tour was such a good deal.  At $45 per person, we couldn't go wrong.  They sent a cabby to pick us up from our hotel and we each got a Monteith's hat, 5 beers of our choice, and a $15 voucher for dinner at a participating pub that our cabby also took us to.  Includes all tax and tip!  The tour was informative and the guide super friendly.  We even got to pour our own beer from the tap.  I was a natural of course having had experience from work.  :)  With our $30 food voucher we were able to get a huge platter of fish, chicken, spring rolls, wedges, scallops and sausage.  In total we spent $90 for a brewery tour, 2 hats, 10 beers and a huge platter of food. AND we got to look 'hawt' in our orange smocks! 
Safety First!

The best part was meeting some interesting people.  A danish guy (Christian) currently living in Christchurch had his parents visiting and even though we had a bit of a language barrier, we still had beer and friendliness in common.  At the restaurant we met 2 older gentlemen who had driven in that day from Christchurch on business. (John & Wayne   lol)   Both were really nice guys but Wayne was the more quiet one of the two.  However when we mentioned *Whitebait, he lit up and was talking up a storm.  He didn't hesitate to give us his business card and invited us over for dinner and even a place to sleep should we ever find ourselves in the Christchurch area.  After having way too much to drink we called a cab for home.  (Which ended up being the same guy that drove us there...small town.)

Next morning - Having done all we could do in Greymouth;  checked out and went back to Ali's for a hearty breakfast and great coffee to fuel us for the day's drive.  So much to look at along the way: Shanty Town which might have been cool but we didn't want to spend the money to go in; instead we took pictures of all the old tools on the side of the road leading up to the entrance. 


A brief stop at the "Glow worm dell" but it was still morning and bright out so nothing to see but some viney trees and a bit of trickling water.  We read in our trusty Lonely Planet that the Hokitika Gorge was worth a look only being 30 minutes off the highway.  Wow!  Not only was the drive beautiful but the gorge itself was amazing.  And full of those blasted sand flies.  As long as you keep moving they don't cling on.  Any time we stopped for a minute I was jogging on the spot.  I have a love hate relationship with the sand flies.  They love me, I obsessively hate them!!!

On the way out to the Hokitika Gorge.

Hokitika Gorge - as you can imagine, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Weka - This guy tried to climb into the van when we went back for bug spray.  Friendly football sized birds. 

Back on the road again towards Franz Josef Glacier, most of the time we had no cell reception and just as it seemed we were in the middle nowhere, there was a helicopter pad just off the road.  We drove in just for the view and this man quickly came over.  Offered us a $300 helicopter ride to the top of both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers for only $150 each.  As awesome as it would have been, we declined being that we are jobless and homeless.  lol

Arriving in Franz Josef was like stepping onto the set of the 1997 movie "Dante's Peak" starring Linda Hamilton and Peirce Brosnan.  Beautiful small town, tons of character, but instead of a volcano it was a glacier.  Wandered around town for a bit and saw that there was a hike to the Glacier about 90 minutes return and decided we'd take a crack at it in the morning.  We checked into a standard cabin at the Top 10 Holiday Park for only $65 a night. 

*Ryan really is the best guy around.  As mentioned, I had blow-dried my hair the night before (something I hadn't been able to do in more than a week) and JCDV was a few blocks away from Ali's diner.  The rain had really started to come down and Ryan being a gentleman offered to get the van and pick me up so I didn't have to get soaked...while I took care of the bill.  Awww sweety!  I <3 him!

*As some of you may already know, instant coffee is the norm here so we were super eager to have a real coffee.  As with home, some coffee is mediocre and some is awesome.  This one was awesome! 

*Whitebait -  "A collective term for the immature fry of fish, (such as herring, sprat, sardines, mackerel, bass and many others.) typically between 25 and 50 millimetres long.  It is not an ecologically viable foodstuff and in several countries strict controls on harvesting exist."  When we got to the South Island, particularly on the west coast we noticed there were many signs and boards advertising Whitebait.  Apparently it's wildly sought after this time of year and people go crazy over it.  John and Wayne told us stories of how some would get out their rifles should they find another in their spot fishing for Whitebait.  We have yet to try it but I have a feeling it would be quite disappointing after all the hype.  The entire fish is eaten including the head, fins and gut and basically reminds me of the little deep fried salty 'n' spicy fish you can get at a late night Chinese noodle house that go great with congee.  Looks like they mostly make fritters and patties out of them. 
P.s. I've been craving congee!