Saturday 15th Nov. 
I meant to mention that our hosts had bought the former salmon farm with a view to eking a living from the bnb business, an important part of which was a glamping tent down by the Hokitika river.

 Unfortunately someone reported them to the council and the building inspector condemmed the tent! They employed an engineer who failed to justify the tent structure and so they have started clearing a site in the woods for a new tent at costs unbudgeted. They should have waited for my arrival - tents designed at reasonable rates. I didn't however offer professional assistance for fear of becomming embroiled in something that I coudn't follow through.

We took a detour from our southerly route to explore Arthurs Pass which is listed as the highest and most spectacular pass across the southern alps. Arthur Dobson was a surveyor who was shown the pass by a Maori guide. A road was then constructed bringing gold prospectors from the east coast to Hokitika.
There is a village called Arthurs Pass made up of cafes and hostels and after coffee I chose a walk up the Otira valley following another raging torrent with lovely alpine flora. 
 
The good weather had taken a break but we were lucky that the rain eased for the duration of the walk. Mountain views however were mostly obscured in the mist.
We weren't to know then that the sun had decided to take a holiday of its own for the rest of our south island trip.
At the top of the walk a narrow bridge crossed the river and the path became less defined. After picnic lunch sheltering from drizzle behind a rock the decision to return to the pass was almost unanimous.
Back beside the road we explored a little to the east along a woodland path and had a look at the Bealey river which falls to the east while the Otira plunges west.

Our next bnb was on a dairy farm at Kakapotahi on the Waitaha river. A wide flat valley with misty views to the snow topped mountains in the distance. We arrived at feeding time for the calfs who were having their last feed before being weaned. They get very upset understandably having to eat nothing but grass.

Mrs farmer looked rather disgruntled in her muddy overalls and complained that she hated farming and couldn't wait to sell up. Unfortunately the price of milk was  down and the value of the farm depressed as a result. I can't see the price increasing any time soon as the over-production is apparent everywhere with endless fields of cows . We heard that farmers have been subsidised in the past to convert from wool/lamb to dairy but with health trends going away from dairy you would think there would now be more cereal grown- we saw hardly any. The river had recenty flooded the entire valley so maybe crops wouldn't be viable here.