Woke to cloudy, grey skies & steady rain, & the forecast was for it to stay that way, all day. Very quickly, any thoughts of going walking in Abel Tasman National Park were put to one side, & we resigned ourselves to a (somewhat) wasted day. Walked into town, & found a 2nd hand shop selling very cheap books, so the kids stocked up! Then tried to find the library, but it was closed, then the theatre. Found a cinema instead, but there was nothing...

Reluctantly surfaced to a bright, sunny day! Everyone had slept really well, woke late, & didn't have much motivation to get ready to leave. After breakfast, John asked if the children would like to help him feed the chickens, & while they were out of earshot, Olivia told us where the calf skin rugs on the floor came from! On their return, J&M put on the skins, & there was much merriment as they "moo-ed" around on the floor! Olivia then took us ...

Still raining when we woke. Leisurely start to the day - jobs all done & ready to leave by 10am, but sat in the warmth of the main lounge until quarter to 11, hoping to be able to feed the fish & turtles! Eventually drove away, but only as far as the local supermarket (again!) to stock up on supplies. D remembered that last night's leftovers were still in the fridge, so a quick return trip to Neptune's was called for! As we left Greymouth, we saw flo...

Alarm went off at 7am, & D&L immediately got u, dressed & finished packing. Got kids up & dressed in just a few minutes, & bundled into the car with only minor (sleepy) resistance! Got to the guided walks office at ~8.15, in steady rain & heavy, low, cloud. We speculated as to how bad the weather would have to be for the walk to be called off, & if we would get a full refund! D went up to the front desk to check in, & proceede...

Reluctantly decided to leave Wanaka & head north, towards the glaciers. First stop: Lake Hawea Lookout, just a few km up the SH6, then another lookout looking south, across Lake Wanaka, back towards the town. Next was the Blue Pools forest walk, just north of Makarora, a short walk through forest & across a swing bridge to clear, deep, blue pools where we saw a couple of large rainbow trout, built stone towers, & skimmed stones. Then the road sta...