travels in the cold!

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Hi Lovelies!!

Well, things are going well in New Zealand. We're back on the road and taking it SLOW!!

After Benji's boots came in the mail, we left the glaciers and headed south. Unfortunately, we didn't get too far, as Foxy Roxy decided she just simply didn't want to drive any further.... So there we were, broke down on the side of the road.... It seemed flat enough, so we slept there and decided to deal in the morning.

A New (or I should say re-furbished) alternator in Haast, and we were back on the road. Drivin' like a jewel :-)

We headed to Lake Hawea, a very small town on a spectacular lake. We slept with a view of stunning mountains surrounding a crystal clear lake- yum!

In the morning we headed to Wanaka, a lake just over the ridge from Hawea. We decided that when we're billionaires, we're definately buying a vacation home in Wanaka! The weather had become VERY Wet and Chilly, and Benji was coming down with a cold, so we splurged for a hostle for a few nights.

Oh my, what did we do in Wanaka?

Well, to begin with, we went on an AMAZING hike up to the Rob Roy glacier. This glacier is different from the others we had seen. It's a hanging glacier and literally hangs on the edge of a high cliff. There were alpine parrots called "Kias" flying around, and the wind was so strong that the waterfalls comming off the cliff were blown right back up again into the air, creating a crazy mist all around. It was very cool.

We were VERY happy to come back to a warm shower and bed after that adventure :-)

For the next three days, we enjoyed the lake and snow-capped mountains of Wanaka, Abby went to the dentist (oh joy) and we spent a bundle to get the car a WOF registartion so we can sell it when the time comes. All in all, a great place to have to deal with life...

From Wanaka we headed toward Queenstow (the adventure cap. of the world). We slept that night on the higest paved road in New Zealand, and oh my!!! was it chilly!!! The car was covered in ice in the morning...brrrrr.....

So here we are in Queenstown. Yesterday we hiked to the top of the mountain in town and took an alpine luge ride. It was fun! Tjis town is very tourist-y, but very beautiful. I think we'll head out tomorrow toward the fiordland, but for now, we're just enjoying the journey.

We love and miss you all!!!

-Abby and Benji

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Photos

Terminal Face of the Fox Glacier
The fox glacier is much different looking than than the Franz Josef Glacier.

View of the Hanging Glacier
As we walked along the trail the Rob Roy Glacier came into view.

View of Queenstown
This view of Queenstown shows the alpine luge in the foreground. Great fun!!!