South Island

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Hi, here I am in Dunedin, the Edinburgh of the south (feels like home!) For the past week I've been travelling down the west coast of the South Island and believe me there are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe the awesome beauty of this land. After leaving Nelson last week we travelled across to Westpoint. The scenery on the way was rugged and desolate but very beautiful. Westpoint was disappointing but the coast to the south was extremely interesting. We stopped at the pancake rocks a fascinating rock formation formed over thousands of years where the limesone resembles a pile of pancakes (it really does!) Also at high tide the sea water is pushed up through blow holes.
On to Greymouth where we looked at a Jade factory (a precious stone found in the rocks of the west coast). The museum was interesting and no I didn't buy any!
The following day we headed south to the Frans Joseph glacier. The snow covered peaks of the southern Alps were awe inspiring and the sun shone so we swa them at their best. Once in the little township we caught a shuttle bus to the glacier. After a short but steep walk we found ourselves on the view point (perched on top of a Roche Moutaner (spelling?). An amazing sight even though the glacier is retreating. It was easy to imagine the whole valley being filled with this enormous river of ice. We then walked down into the valley to the run off stream and the moraines left by the glacier. We walked as far as we could to get some good photographs. The weather was amazingly good and much warmer than we expected. I then went back to the hotel for a reviving cuppa before visiting the informatin centre and the Glacier Expreience.(both well worth a visit).
The next day the weather changed and it poured with rain (common on the West Coast). The Scenery was still outstanding (both the Alps and the coast). After a while we headed inland and stopped at a fish farm for coffee. The rain continued but there was always something interesting to keep my attention especially when we came to the lake area. Finally we arrived at Lake Wanaka. A truly beautiful setting and probably my favourite place in NZ. At that point we boarded a Jet Boat. A truly exciting and exhilerating experience although the heavy rain in the wind was very painful on the face. We stayed at a lovely hotel that night and I would have been content to stay much longer.
But the tour continued and we drove south to the Queen of Towns, Queentown. The sun was shining brightly and I was feeling tired so I but on my bather and slumped on a sun lounger to read. I have to say it was with a beautiful view of the lake.
I'm running out of coins for the internet now so I will continue at a later date and tell you about the rest of the week very soon. Queenstown lives up to its name!

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