Up the West Coast

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Our first stop along the West Coast route really wasn't on the coast at all - it was inland at Mt. Cook National Park. We arrived into our campground (at the foot of a glacier, I might add) in cold weather and rain. We huddled in the back of the station wagon and played some yahtzee before braving the cold to cook our dinner on our little camp stove. We even made the decision to sleep in the back of the car because it was just too cold to set up the tent and shiver the night away in it.

After a slightly unsatisfying sleep, we awoke to clearing skies and slightly warmer weather and so decided to make the best of it. We got our gear on and did a hike up to a place called Tea Point where we could view the glacier a little more clearly. We then made our way over to the Tasman Glacier - supposedly the largest in New Zealand, though it's dirty cover left a lot to be desired (these desires which would be fufilled later in the week when we made our way to both Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers).

After our visit to Mt. Cook we were able to actually make our way out to the West Coast, as was the original plan, after a quick look around Wanaka. Our first stop was at the two glaciers that I mentioned above - Fox and Franz Josef. We did a couple of quick hikes to see both of them from the best possible viewpoints - and were not dissapointed. They were quite incredible to see close up, and they reminded me of how small my presence in the world actually is (though I may sometimes like to think that it is actually more-so).

Continuing our journey north, we passed through a couple of towns and small cities and made a couple more stops along the way. One interesting one was at a place where the claim to fame is the 'Pancake Rocks' that sit along the coast. It was actually quite neat to see, and though I had forgotten my maple syrup, I still enjoyed studying them and considering how they were formed. From there we turned back inland and stayed at a small DOC campsite.

From here we continued our journey north to a small town called Mokueta - just outside of Abel Tasman National Park. We found a nice campground to set up in for a couple of days while we made our way around the park. Our second day here we grabbed a watertaxi to take us about 20 km up the coast so that we could hike back along the parks very popular Coastal Track. It was absolutely beautiful - arguably the nicest hike I have done in NZ thus far. It was a beautiful day, the sea was sparkling and the sand was golden. We even stopped at a small beach to have our lunch and go for a swim mid-way through the hike. And even though by the end of the 8 hr hike
my feet were more blistered and my legs more sore than they've ever been - I still rate it at the top of the list for pure beauty in New Zealand.

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Photos

A Small Tropical Island
Abel Tasman National Park

One of the many beautiful lagoons
Abel Tasman National Park

Pancake Rocks
Notice all of the layers upon layers that formed the rocks

A beautiful small beach
Abel Tasman National Park

Making my way across the swinging bridge
Abel Tasman National Park

Dipping my feet in the icy cold water
Flowing from Fox Glacier

Comments

[Tammy Fulmore]

Great pictures
Enjoy your last week in NZ. We look forward to seeing you both! Tammy and Doug

[Jenny]

Like a postcard!
Wow! Your photos are so amazing! I just caught up reading your blogs since your bungee jumping experience (I can't believe you were able to do that!!!) And it seems every place you have been to is even more gorgeous than the next! Too bad about the fruit picking. I hear there is alot of fruit picking in Australia so maybe you'll have a little more luck finding work there? Loving the blog, can't wait to see Australia! By the way, send me an email when you get a chance letting me know of your schedule and we'll see if we can meet up somewhere.