We left Queenstown on a grey day with low cloud and mist over Lake Wakatipu limiting our views of the mountain tops - very different to the last couple of days weather, but we're not complaining as we're in shorts and Tshirts - we hear its very cold back home in the UK?!? One thing we will whinge about - our insect bites and careless sunburn from yesterdays Franklin walk around the lake. Sympathy anyone?! No?!

Setting the Sat Nav we were told to 'drive 60km and turn right' - we're getting well used to these distances! As we left the Southern Alps the scenery changed and the extreme folds of hills we'd been used to seeing gave way to dry yellow and sometimes green ripples as we drove through farmland in Central Otago and saw more sheep than we have to date, hundreds of them in paddocks, following each other in lines across the rolling hills and when there were no sheep there were cows, almost as many as the sheep and when there were no cows there were deer. In case you've not guessed - this area is big on farming!

En route for Fjordland we stopped for morning coffee at Garston (!) - New Zealand's most inland village at 304m above sea level and with a population of 106! Opposite the greezy cafe there was a shop selling honey and we bought some award winning Beech mite honey (the only honey not made from flower pollen) but passed up on the anti-ageing Bee Venom treatment products!

Travelling on we drove over 'So Big Creek' and noted that the fire ban remains total with extreme risk of fire. We've learned that this year has been exceptionally dry in South Island - so much so that some trees are dying - but that North Island has had much much more rain than usual. Car reg plates we saw today included 'MY ZEPH' on a Vintage Zephyr, 'ENUFF' and '15TON' on a motorbike.

We arrived early afternoon at Te Anau and took a stroll along the Lake front and enjoyed watching someone tubing with much screaming, passed backpackers asleep on the grass after a long walk, late night or both. With clouds obscuring the mountain tops we visited the Department of Conservation centre at the end of the bay for information on the area. We picked up info on how to recognise hypothermia if any of you in the UK is interested - we won't be needing it - and read with great interest Chief Seattle's speech which talks about care of the environment (and also about the profligacy of the 'White Man'). There is some uncertainty about this speech ever having been made or as stated in this link - http://savethefrogs.com/students/chief-seattle.html - but even if it was never spoken its a beautiful and thought provoking piece of writing.

We've noticed that everywhere there's a 'green paradox' on the one hand in NZ recycling seems to be encouraged - but on the other in some towns (yes okay the mainly touristy ones) we've seen large blazing outdoor gas fireplaces to warm the evening diners and drinkers, and in Franz Josef one bar/restaurant had a patio heater for each table - no wonder the glaciers are receding!

Okay, enough for today, tomorrow it's Doubtful Sound!