Went up the West Coast in August of 2007 and got rained off at the glaciers, so we headed for Hokitika. We found the number of Bonz N Stonz in the tourist information booklet and rang up to book for a day of jade carving as the bleak NZ winter blew.
The owner, Steve was great. So laid back but so helpful too. I was a little nervous about using all of the power tools (and managed to grind down my fingernails!) but me and my 2 friends had a brilliant time and came out with some really nice jade necklaces and ornaments. In terms of value for money, we had a great fun day and a very reasonable cost (can't remember the exact amount, but about £30 if I recall).

My daughter and I walked into Bonz and Stonz looking for a Jade keychain for my beloved BMW motorcycle. Now this was after checking out other countless Jade stores in Hokitika. My daughter was getting slightly perturbed with me, rolling eyes, etc... I was ready to settle for about anything at this point. This being my last resort til certain death via teenage girl overtook me, I asked Steve, the owner, if he could make a keychain for me. He said, "No, but you can." I told him I didn't have much time while eyeballing my daughter. Steve put her at ease and told her she could use his computer while I did a little work in back. So, all was good. I picked out a cool piece of rough jade and Steve showed me how to carve it, smooth it down, polish it and drill a hole into it for a key ring. I am not kidding, I had a BLAST. My jade keychain on the BMW is awesome.

If you are looking for something to do, go to Bonz & Stonz. Steve will get you going on creating something special. He also has an excellent collection of handcarved pieces avavailabe. This would especially be great if you had kids that were interested in carving there own jade creation.