Heading South

After spending a few fun days with our Foster Family, it was time to move on. We decided to take the riskier (weatherwise) West Coast route, since it claims to have more scenic views and a spectacular coastline - we certainly won't argue with that. Quite beautiful, one could almost stop every three feet to take photos! But we didn't. This photo is of Takaka Hill (which has a part in Lord of the Rings). It is quite the drive up and down it - very steep!



Our goal for the day was to check out Buller Gorge, which boasts the longest swing bridge in the country. This one you don't jump off...instead, you walk across and have the choice to return by air or the bridge!



We decided to go by air on a tandem comet (basically sitting in a harness). The more weight, the faster you go.....well, we have been eating well, so it didn't take long to get across!! Just working us up to the bungy jump.




The next port of call were the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes - unfortunately we missed high tide, so did not get a chance to see the sea shooting up the rocks. However, the formations are quite amazing and they don't know why they are layered. We did get to see a large pod of dolphins playing in the sea around the area. No orcas yet.




We spent the one night by the side of the road and decided that we earned a spot at a proper campsite last night (couldn't stand the smell of each other any longer!). We woke up to a beautiful day, nice and hot. What a great start to our trip to the most scenic part of New Zealand. Yeah, not so much.....

Here we are at the Franz Josef Glacier, and we are a wee bit wet. Not the summer weather we had hoped for and according to the forecast, it's not going to get any better tomorrow. However, I hear that it is due to get down to -30C in Calgary soon.....so we don't feel too bad!

With any luck we will have beautiful photos from Milford Sound, but we're not holding our breath.

Love to all,

Joan and Errin

xxx