Franz Josef Glacier and Greymouth

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We awoke to a beautiful day of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky! After the classic breakfast of beans and scrambled eggs (particular mention should go to the synchronised toasting of 9 slices of bread!) we packed up and headed towards the Franz Josef glacier. Once again opting for the cheaper option of our own guided tour, we reached the lookout point rather quickly and headed back to the car. Ollie seemed far more interested than the other two but then he hadn't seen a glacier before.

After our quick tour of the glacier we pushed on further north along the west coast until we reached a town called Greymouth. We refuelled and stopped for some fish 'n' Chips when Mark noticed the sign for the Montieths Brewery! Dale quickly consulted the guidebook and we decided to take the brewery tour and stay the night in Greymouth. After lunch, we booked ourselves on the 4pm tour and checked into a wonderful hostel, complete with sauna, spa and gym.

The tour was very entertaining and the health & safety regulations from far more lapse than those of the Bundaberg distillery in Australia. Once the tour was complete and we used the beer barrel urinals, the testing began. It was good decision that we had opted to stay the night and also walk to the brewery since we were given 7 different varieties of Montieths to try. We were then allowed to help oursleves to our favourite once the sampling was complete.

We were kindly asked to leave the brewery around 5.30pm and made our way back to the hostel. We then watched the recommended New Zealand film "Once Were Warriors" and were highly dissapointed. In the evening we enjoyed Dale's very tasty lamb hot pot and finished off the night with a few drinks and another film.

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Photos

Good views in the morning
Spaceship pod fully open here!