Visiting Hokitika Gorge

So how does the water get this blue colour you ask? Well it’s all down to something called ‘rock flour’ which is ground down mineral-rich schist rock and sandstone which is so fine that instead of settling to the bottom of the river it remains suspended in the water as it flows down from the southern alps through what some refer to as Hokitika blue gorge.

As you can see from the rather sad looking riding boots, we didn’t visit in the best of weather. We’d spent the previous night in the little town of Murchison near Nelson Lakes and managed to dodge the rain all the way down the West Coast, stopping in to see the amazing Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki before continuing to Hokitika where we checked into the equally amazing Rimu Lodge. Since our plan was to leave the next morning for Hanmer Springs via Arthur’s Pass we thought we’d take the gap in the weather to go and visit the gorge despite the rather ominous looking clouds to the east.

Sure enough, as we headed along the zig-zagging road just north of the gorge, the weather closed in so that by the time we reached the carpark I was a little ‘grumpy’ as Debs would put it. But we’d come this far so in our riding gear and in the rain, we walked along the short track to the swing bridge and then on to the edge of the river itself.

The sight of the river certainly lifted our spirits and so we made a promise to ourselves that we would come back on a better day and explore the area some more. So we will, and another visit to see the amazing blue water at Hokitika Gorge is a must-do on our next South Island itinerary.

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Looking for more ideas on things to do and places to see when visiting the West Coast region? Have a look at our guide, Top things to do in West Coast.