Hello From Hokitika + A New Frypan

Full sun today, bringing into focus the NZ Alps to the west of Hokitika, where we're spending a few days. 

Tomorrow we hope to explore the numerous pounamu workshops here.

For a small town, Hokitika struck it rich in the resources stakes. Before the gold rushes Maori were already heading here in search of another precious stone – pounamu. The Arahura River is the birth place of pounamu, which is also known as greenstone or New Zealand jade.

Today we shopped for groceries, visited the Takenote Hokitika bookshop, and found a cast iron fry pan at a camping store. The bookshop was packed with NZ titles.

I got The Luminaries, winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize. The book is set in 1866, and the town is featured in its gold rush story. When I paid, the clerk asked me if I wanted the stamp noting the book was purchased in Hokitika. Well of course I do.

Birds of NZ in books

Fewer than 150 of these flightless NZ parrots remain. Here's a website with more (thanks Brookerz).

The long-sought cast iron frypan turned up in a camping store geared to hunters and fishers. Our caravan range is relatively small, and this will do nicely.

So nicely in fact that returning from a big grocery shop we put it to immediate use.

Better than it looks...mine served on a wooden plate found at the hospice shop in Motueka for $1.50.  Cheers!  (NB: tiny bottle of pinot noir a freebie tied to the neck of Art's Appleton rum, a cross-cultural gift.)