Visitors to Hokitika often combine a visit to Hokitika Gorge and Lake Kaniere into a long 80km-driving outing. It’s probably best to see the Gorge first, and then plan to spend more time around the lake relaxing if the weather’s fine.
The Hokitika Gorge is a long drive—33km—from Hokitika, so the question is, “is the photo-op worth it?” Yes is the easy answer, especially if you are coming from the north. Even on a grey drizzly day the Gorge’s colors are impressive. There are many powder-blue rivers in the south of the South Island, but none more easily photographed than Hokitika’s Gorge. The water is an otherworldly milky opaque blue due to suspended glacierground “rock flour”. It’s the same eerie blue as Lakes Pukaki/Tekapo and rivers just to the south like Whataroa/Haast. What makes Hokitika Gorge so special is that the water pools up and is penned-in by grey rocks for a 300m stretch, all surrounded by verdant green bush and spanned by a scenic swingbridge. This makes the scene super-easy to photograph and appreciate. It’s almost impossible to take a bad photo of Hokitika Gorge, and when you get home, it’ll be the kind of photo that you’ll show others to make them salivate over your NZ trip.
There’s not much to do at the Gorge than just look. From the carpark an easy track heads 7 minutes over to the swingbridge, and from there you can scramble down to the rocks and water for a quick icy splash. There are no other walks or anything else to explore nearby.
