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Published: January 2nd 2015
Well, after several days in the fun and beautiful city of Queenstown, it was time to head north to experience more the south island. We will miss our charming inn, The Queenstown House, near the top of the hill, its commanding view of QT, our gracious innkeeper, Louise, daily happy hour and sharing stories with other travelers.
A long day of driving took us from the alpine/lake setting of QT through cattle/sheep ranches, enormous river valleys, spectacular gorges, wine country, gold country and into the rain forests on the west side of the south island where they receive over 400 inches of rain per year. Giant ferns cover the forest floor and the sides of the mountains providing a scenic backdrop for a couple long days of driving. Fortunately our little rental car gets great gas mileage, since gas is roughly $8.00/gallon down here. Driving on the other side of the road is getting more comfortable now, but "keep left!", "give way!", and "a little too close over here!" are still the three most common things blurted out by my copilot each day. All in all, Barb is getting used to "riding the shoulder", but it can still be a
bit nerve-racking. Extremely windy does not begin to describe the curves found on the roads clinging to the side of the mountains as we approach the town of Franz Joseph and glacier country. Fortunately, the kids stomachs held up (barely), and I'm happy to report that our leftover Milford Sound snack box that doubles as a car sickness receptacle is still in pristine condition. If that holds true for the remainder of the trip, it will be a smashing success.
The lushness of the rain forest is equaled only by the rugged and wild beauty of the Tasman Sea as we approach the coast on the northwest part of the island hear Punakaiki. Fifteen foot breakers continually crash into the shore in unending sets stretching approx. 1/2 mile off shore. No one goes into the water here. Staying in Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks and blowholes created by these huge waves is a great experience, and being on the beach has made it Scott's favorite spot. The driftwood wikiup he spent a couple hours building last night survived high tide and has lived to see another day. Now, if only he could find a way to surf these
gigantic waves, he'd be the happiest guy in the southern hemisphere. And speaking of the southern hemisphere - Dad won pool game #2, so the series is now tied at 1-1.
We hope you enjoy the pictures from the last couple of days. Still working on the video for the blog, but in the meantime, you can find a link on Barb's facebook page.
Happy New Year everyone!
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Randy
non-member comment
Awesome photos
I never knew you could write so well. Great trip and fabulous commentary. Randy