One Sunday in January we couldn’t get through to Reefton where we have been attending a small Baptist church. There were some culverts that had to be replaced in the road, and because of the narrow valley at that spot it was not possible to create a detour. The only way to get to Reefton from here on that Sunday and Monday would have been to drive to Greymouth, up the Coast Road to Westport, through the Buller Gorge to Inangahua, then to Reefton–a 3-hour drive rather than our normal 30 minutes. We decided to go somewhere else for church! We chose a small Church of Christ in Hokitika (an hour away), and packed a picnic lunch. One person in the family was deep in a conversation when almost everyone else had left church, so we filled our car and part of the family went to locate a place to eat our picnic. While we were waiting, the girls played in a very unusual pohutukawa tree with aerial roots, and we investigated a cannon. Elijah studied it, found a number of markings and formulated a hypothesis about how those markings were used for aiming the cannon, then looked it up online to see if he was right. He was–partly!
We also enjoyed the view up and down the Hokitika River–what a gorgeous day!
After the rest of the family joined us, we ate our lunch, then drove back through town a little way to a wood-chopping competition we had seen. A man who works with Simon was there, but we didn’t quite stay long enough to see him chop. On the way, Mom wanted a picture of this clock tower in the center of town.
These men are sawing through logs.
These 13-15-year-old boys were chopping through logs; each one had an older man coaching him.
After watching the wood-chopping for awhile, we went out to the beach. First, we stopped at the sign made of driftwood (probably the most-photographed item in the area!).
Then, we walked down the beach to the end, at the mouth of the Hokitika River, to check out the driftwood sculpture contest that was being held.
The titles given to the sculptures were very entertaining. This one is “In the Moment,” although we’re not sure what that was supposed to mean.
Pardon the language on this next sign. We sympathize with the sentiment, however–wekas are a major problem for gardens in this region. Can you see the “weka” digging up the garden (just behind the right-hand label)?
This one is “Questionable Pet.” Most of us agreed that this was our favorite.
Burl-o-pus
When I see creations like these, I marvel again at the creativity God has built into every person on earth–I love it, even though I didn’t like some of the ideas expressed.