November 27, Hokitika to Methven

Having heard nothing so far from the Westport chair owner, and having obtained the piece of spiritually charged greenstone we set out for Arthur's Pass. This is the only pass to the coast that we have not been on, and reportedly the most scenic.

Note campervan impediment

There is another way to get to Arthur's Pass. From Christchurch you can take a train that runs over the pass and on to Greymouth where it regurgitates its contents for a shopping spree. It also stops at Arthur's Pass, as do all the buses.

KEA

New Zealand has an interesting bird called a Kea. It is the only alpine parrot in the world. The Kea's notorious urge to explore and manipulate makes this bird a pest for residents and an attraction for tourists. Called "the clown of the mountains", it will investigate backpacks, boots or even cars, often causing damage or flying off with smaller items. I've read that unattended tents in the back country often get "burgled" by this bird by simply chewing through the side.

People commonly encounter wild Kea at South Island ski areas. They also love the train station at Arthur's Pass. Can you guess why? The Kea are attracted by the prospect of food scraps. Their curiosity leads them to peck and carry away unguarded items of clothing or to pry apart rubber parts of cars—to the entertainment and annoyance of human observers. They are often described as "cheeky". A Kea has even been reported to have made off with a Scottish man's passport while he was visiting Fiordland National Park.

Feeding Kea has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the birds' health and well-being and is thought to contribute to their destructive behavior (not that that stops the practice). The birds' trusting behavior around humans has also been indicated as a contributing factor in a number of recent incidents at popular tourist spots where Kea have been purposely killed.


After tiring of trying to elbow my way past the asians to be able to get a picture without them in it, I had to resort to my long lens.


Our ultimate destination for the day was the small town of Methven. Methven is essentially a support town for local area skiing and not much else.

Adds new meaning to the term "ski fence"

Along the way:

The "Orient express" on its way back to Christchurch

After finally arriving at Methven we booked in for two nights. Why two you ask? Cynthia had fun plans in store for me.