Beautiful Hokitika Gorge
Traveling through New Zealand is so refreshing. I swear, every place we go, I think, "Wow, this is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life!" Then I come across another beauty that outshines the first, then another, and another... This magnificent place is the Hokitika Gorge. It's just on the outskirts of Hokitika, which is a small town on the west coast of the South Island, a bit south of Greymouth.
The DOC sign says that it's about a 15 minute walk, but in reality, it only takes about 5-10. You'll find that the DOC signs actually overestimate the hikes a bit.
The glacier dust tints all of the water in the South Island a beautiful icy blue color.
We walked out to the bridge, and took a few pictures. Then a woman walks over and gives us the bright idea to jump off the bridge. Alex was a little cautious about it (he had jumped into shallow water and hit his bum on a rock a few days prior). Me, being as impulsive as I am, I was like FUCK YES! Alex and I stand there trying to rationalize, then next thing you know, I'm climbing over the rail and falling through the air. Holy shit was it a long drop. I jumped off and was falling for a few seconds before I actually hit the water. In the video it looks like I did a belly flop, but I actually landed on my hands. They were stinging for a good few minutes, but it definitely beats landing on my stomach.
I definitely recommend a stop here, but make sure you bring sandfly repellent, because they will eat you alive.
