On the Road Again

Franz Josef Glacier - watch out it's moving fast!



Doing my part to clear the path for Dear Old Dad


A kiwi! (no zoom was used on this photo)

Arrived at Franz Josef Glacier today - the more commercial of the two glacial towns - this one has two whole streets! We've been driving (mostly Dad, not at all surprisingly) around the South Island. We left Picton yesterday and arrived in Westport after about 5.5 hrs of quite interesting driving -- narrow, wind-y roads, gorgeous views (which some **Dad** may not have thought worth the drive), and multiple one lane bridges; one of which was carved right out of the side of a mountain.

After arriving in Westport and settling into our hostel (the TripInn -- and discovering that the door wouldn't close with the current bed alignment, which caused us both to laugh. Luckily manly man dad was able to move the bed so we could get the door to close) we went out for a jaunt around town. Dad was hoping to find a new book to read. Alas, all the stores were closed (close at noon on Saturdays). Thankfully, the bars were open (quite open indeed, a rugby match was on the telly) so we each had a Monteith's ale (monteith's is the local beer around here - i like to think of it as the yuengling of NZ).

The next morning (today) we filled up on petrol and went South to Punakaiki (giggle giggle, I'm so mature) - on the way we saw a sign warning us of penguins for the next 10 kms... yes this is not the states.

just before we reached our destination, there was a lookout, so we stopped, and encountered our first of local fauna for the day. Kiwis! (the birds, not the people) were hanging out and poking around by the carpark - they are ridiculously tame. One came within 3 feet of me. After a few photos, onward we went.

In Punakaiki, we saw the pancake rocks and a bit of the blowholes - both natural phenomenoms - the pancake rocks were formed over years and years (millions that is) of pressure and look like giant stacks of pancakes, and the blowholes are what happens when the tide comes in through them (and blows up through the rocks, not at all suprisingly). After that we went for a short hike through the rainforest than to the Tasman sea to take more photos. It's getting to the point where I don't even know what to think of regarding the scenery -- everything is so beautiful and new, it's hard to know what to photograph, what will be deemed impressive once back in the states. I'm erring on the side of everything will be impressive, so taking lots of photos. (Including the wild -- maybe not though-- goats we saw hanging out, eating, butting heads.)

Onwards we went, down the west coast, where Dad asked for the radio to be turned on (there's a first time for everything) - while I was searching for a station, he commented that he had never been to a place where he couldnt get a station. well he has now! After another penguin crossing sign, an ice cream and one quick glimpse of a glacier, we arrived in Franz Josef.