New Zealand - Franz Josef

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Hello

Again before l begin Nancy has reminded me to tell you about a man we met a few days ago in Te Anau. We met this man while we having a drink in The Moose. This man was really upset because the Hotel he was staying at had stopped serving drinks at 9 pm and he to go out and find another place. This would not happen at the Pinegrove would it Ann. Anyway the really interesting thing about this guy is that is had a huge moustache and came from Frizington - where ever that is.

Anyway back to the diary.

After our overnight stay in Franz Josef which incidently is on the West Coast (that is the very wet West Coast) we set off to Greymouth. On our way we decided to stop off at the Franz Josef Glacier. At this stage we wondered whether we would be able to get onto the actual Glacier. But no - not allowed unless of course you were willing to pay a tour company a lot of money or go on a helicoptor flight. The dimensions of the Glacier are enormous and as Nancy said it makes you feel very insignificant set against such size and beauty. Apparently if the current rate of melt continues and we do not have another ice age then the glacier will not be around for our grandchildrens children to see.

We were going to tell you a little about our drive and stops on the drive up the West Coast but believe me it absolutely poured down almost all the way. We did manage to make one step at a spectacular Lookout on the coast which was a really beautiful sight but within minutes it started raining again.

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