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Dear All,
As you can see from the photograph, we were in Glacier country on the West Coast of NZ. Stopped in a place called Franz Josef and the nearby resort of Fox Glacier. They are at the foothills of Mt Cook and Mt. Tasman from the Western side. The weather was perfect for a flight by helicopter to the glacier, so how could we resist? We took off and after flying up the glacier, we landed on it and had a walk around one of the largest glaciers in the world. It's the only glacier which meets rain forest, which we found really weird. We walked a track through dense rain forest and emerged at the foot hills of the glacier. The helicopter trip was absolutely amazing, even the pilot said that it was one of the best days of the year to see it all.
We took one or two pics and some video and the scenery was indescribable. It was the stuff which inspires poets and artists (well, Paul's a sort of artist). The pics are some of the best yet. A great way to start the day even though we forgot that the clocks went back an hour last w/e, so we were an hour early in checking in.
We have driven through some of the most amazing scenery in the last few days. It's in the remotest part of NZ and you won't see a car for maybe an hour. You won't see any sign of civilisation at all, not even sheep. God knows what would happen if one had an accident?
We travelled North and stayed in Hokitika and visited an old mining town called Shantytown. This was a real town back in the gold mining days and been restored, complete with steam engine and Chinatown. Stayed a few hours before driving through Arthur's Pass. This was a real challenge for the campervan and for Paul. Hairpin bends, steep inclines and descents made for a lot of concentration. Pulled over by Lake Pearson and free camped overnight. The Autumn colours make the trees turn all different shades of green and yellow and red. Just beautiful.
Left early this morning and after 10 mins pulled over at Broken River. We saw an eagle or hawk sitting on a tourist sign. We walked closer expecting it to take off but it stayed there. We got to within 5 feet of the bird before it flew away. we now have the most amazing pics and video ever of a bird of prey in it's natural surroundings. We were thrilled and made our day. Met a Kiwi guy who used to work/live in Finchley!
We are now in Hanmer Springs and took to the natural hot spa's this afternoon. It's all volcanic based and the spa was at 41 degrees. Didn't want to get out.
Tomorrow, we are off to Kaikoura on the East coast where we have another dolphin swimming booking tour booked. We should be crossing the Cook Strait on Saturday to the North Island and be in Wellington, the capital.
Ray & Leslie. Great news about November. Will look forward to the pink champagne.
Derek & Sheila. Are you guys about sometime in June? I'm thinking about flying to Spain to sort out our stuff which we still have in our old place.
The New Zealanders are without doubt the most eco and bio environmentally aware people we've ever met. They re-cycle just about everything. That's an observation not a criticism.
Take care all. We are now over 2 thirds into our trip.
Lots of love,
Paul & Marion
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