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First rain of our trip ...just created more magical views along the coastal rainforests. After an awesome Salmon Chowder for brunch we meandered along toFox Glacier, stopping at all the viewpoints along the way, admiring the rugged coastline strewn with miles and miles of bleached driftwood ...looked like miles of bleached bones. Quite eerie.
The road builders in this country definitely are rather skilled, as there are fantastic roads in really challenging terrain.
Still have not worked out what the attraction is of cycling up and down steep passes, on narrow roads, with buses and campervans whizzing past and carrying all your possessions in saddlebags ...and all of this in the rain ! There are so many cyclists, of all ages cycling through South Island. We spoke to a woman today, in her late fifties, who was planning to ride through South and North Island in about 4 months - all her belongings on the bike and doing it all alone ...about 60kms a day. Just amazing. And here we were feeling quite intrepid in our little campervan !
The extreme power of nature and our insignificance became overwhelmingly clear on our walk up to the viewpoint of the Fox Glacier. The riverbed & glacial valley left behind by the receding glacier looks like a massive quarry. One loses all sense of perspective, until you see people between the rocks and on the glacier. The sheer size is incredible. Knowing that it is also a rather unpredictable environment keeps it exciting ! Fantastic to see !
Find it amazing that at all these viewpoints there are signboards with instructions, and people keep to them ....although there is no-one around to police it. Also ...there is no cost associated to any of the parks or nature walks and sights. There are so many walking and cycle tracks ...really well signposted with explanatory boards everywhere...so it is as if you are on a guided tour.
Also....a definite plus of traveling here....wherever you go there are public toilets which are clean and free to use. Everyone seems to respect the facilities and keeps them in the state they find them. Such a pleasure !
There is also no llitter anywhere...nor are there any bins (as someone would need to come to clean them - which would add a maintenance cost) ...people take their litter with them ...locals and tourists alike. Interesting !
Such an easy country to travel in ...and having such wonderful interactions with interesting people from all over the world. Amazing how many young people are on the road ...and so many young women back-packing and hitch-hiking on their own. Gives us a jolt every time we see it ...are just stuck in such a different paradigm.
Enjoying our little pozzie in the middle of the rainforest ...luckily it is abit cooler so the sandflies are not so vicious. The beauty of the west coast is definitely tempered by the sandflies ....worse than mozzies ! Have managed to keep them at bay for the moment ...luckily the campervan has fly-screens.
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