West Coast of South Island

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The west coast was a truly amazing experience. I guess it can be likened to BC, but here everything is younger it seems. this may be a wrong analysis but it just appears the the coastline here is more rugged, as well as mountains. the area is also minimally developed so roads and towns seem to just be placed along previous routes or villages slowly getting a bit larger. In short, it was spectacular. A place that you did not want to rush to your destination but get lost along the way enjoying everything around you. More than once we would look at the map and figure only a couple of hours driving time from one location to another, only to discover that we would miss too much and then spent twice as long getting there!

I guess the highlight along this portion of the trip was our one day hike on the Franz Josef glacier. After walking right up to the face of the glacier (it terminates to only a small stream) we started walking up the face of it. We spent about 6-7 hours hiking time on the glacier in which time we walked down into crevasses, through one ice cave and over numerous meticulously maintained steps.

from here the next point of interest was the Puzzelling world in Wanaka. I think the pictures pretty much explain most things, but if you don't quite get everything from them the place was just meant to mess with your mind. Rooms that were on slants so water appeared to run uphill. A chair on rollers that runs uphill, balls running uphill. you standing at weird slants to the rest of the room and so on. You felt a bit sick coming out of it, but i guess that's part of the experience.

from here we drove south through Queenstown and into Milford Sound. This area is best described by the photo's, their worth more than my 1000 words.

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Photos

West Coast
Amazing coast line near the Pancake rocks

West Coast
As we kept on driving the sun started setting. There was nothing special done to make the color look like this, it is truly how the mountains all around us were colored.

Franz Josef Glacier
Elnaz climbing through an ice cave. it was a bit cool, but very cool at the same time.

Puzzeling world-wanaka
The great maz, Elnaz found all 4 towers before me, but then got lost in the maz and had to be rescued...by me!

Puzzeling world-wanaka
Look at Elnaz's face, its a really big one!

Puzzeling world-wanaka
Are you sure you dropped that in here hunny...I really can't find your contact.

Puzzeling world-wanaka
"I see that you want to come and visit New Zealand, my child"

Puzzeling world-wanaka
Who's standing straight?

Puzzeling world-Wanaka
No wonder why she had that expression on her face. She even had to go outside to finish that one!

Milford Sound
These are Kea, a mountain parrot. If your not careful they will eat anything, your shoes, your packs, your car. And this one tried to eat my finger.

Milford Sound
Lunch time during a kayaking trip. The sand flyes kept us moving, which I guess is the point of the sandflys if you listen to the Mauri legends!

Milford Sound
This pic and the previous are of the same waterfall, this one is just the next day after a night of rain.

Milford Sound
The day after a night of rain. The waterfalls were cascading down this mountain, called the Cascade Mountain.

Milford Sound
One of the many local residents, a New Zealand fur seal, almost hunted to extinction back in the 1800-1900's