The 2AM Cook Strait ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton was not by choice. We were lucky to have even snagged a reservation at the last minute (7 days in advance) as every other time slot was booked…for weeks! The last resort was to return the car in Wellington, fly into Christchurch, and rebook another car from there. However, I try to avoid flying when other modes of transportation are available to reduce our carbon footprint.

With the shortened number of days in the South Island, Christchurch was cut out of our itinerary. This allowed us to drive straight to the next destination – Hokitika. The 5-hour drive from Picton to Hokitika was painful given our lack of sleep on the ferry, but we made it in one piece.

With sleep deprivation, it’s safe to say that we weren’t going on any long hikes. The 1.2-mile Hokitika Gorge loop fit the bill before we checked into our crash pad.

The terrain on the West Coast of the South Island is determined by the amount of rainfall it gets. It is not dissimilar to the windward side of Hawaii, where the ocean moisture pushes up against the towering mountain ranges. The subsequent cooling effect then leads to heavy amounts of precipitation. In fact, the entire West Coast of the South Island makes you feel like you’re in Hawaii, until you get a glimpse of the snow capped ranges of Mount Cook.

After that, it was lights out for me for the next 16 hours.

• Hiking
• New Zealand
• Travel