Another long road trip - Franz Josef to Queenstown, with stops along the way

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Today we awoke to (wait for it...) misty rain. The remnants of the cyclone were still being felt across the South island, and we prayed that on this day before Easter, we would start to see a break in the weather. Even with the rain and mist, we made the most of our time. We decided to see if we could view the Franz Josef glacier (no luck seeing the ice), and Lake Matheson (no luck again), before we finally had a change at the Fox glacier. It was a challenging hike, but we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the ice and dozens of waterfalls. The only thing that could have made it better was if there was more sun.

After a couple of hours trekking through woods and across rock beds, we began the long drive to Queenstown through the Haast Pass. The weather improved along much of the way before we entered the mountains and we got some beautiful pictures along the coast. We also experienced the not so pleasant bites of sand flies at Ship Creek - bites that are still lingering and itching 5 days later as I write this.

Hint for future travelers: Don't forget the insect repellant!

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