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Published: February 13th 2006
Hello from Wanaka! Janet and I have done quite a bit since I last wrote. Being on the South Island is good fun, although the weather hasn't been cooperating lately . . . We left Wellington on Wednesday via ferry. Usually the views accross the Cook Strait are beautiful, but it was raining so we played cards for the duration of the ride rather than taking advantage of the viewing decks. After the ferry docked in Picton we got back in Bill (our car) and headed to Nelson. It was pouring the entire way, so much for Nelson being New Zealand's sunniest city . . . We spent three days in Nelson, relaxing in our nice little cabin we rented with a kitchen and tv, no bathroom, but it didn't matter. Our first day in Nelson we wandered around the town, a very cute city, but decided to wait to check out Abel Tasman National Park because we heard the weather was supposed to get better even though it was a relatively nice day. The next day, of course, the weather was terrible, but we went on a drive out to Farewell Spit and didn't end up going on a hike because of the weather, the drive was fun though, we laughed a lot. On Saturday we headed to Greymouth, it was raining on the drive over, but the scenery was pretty . . . Sunday we went to the Glaciers, once again, in the rain. The mountains that are supposed to line the West Coast were non-exsistent, which was a shame, but it is New Zealand, if it didn't rain a lot here, it wouldn't be so pretty and green😊 We walked to Franz Josef Glacier in the rain, well, the viewing point at least, then headed to the township of Fox Glacier (yes, township) where we had accommodation for the night. After checking into our hotel the weather cleared a bit so we went for a hike around Lake Matheson, the mirror lake. Even though we were unable to see Mt. Cook reflected in the Lake, we still had a nice hike and didn't get rained on. Yesterday we drove to Wanaka and as soon as we got away from the Glaciers the weather cleared. It ended up being a beautiful day and a beautiful drive, we stopped at several waterfalls while going over Haast Pass. Once in Wanaka we decided to check out Mt. Aspring National Park because the weather was so nice. After a long dirt road with many cow and sheep spottings we made it to the car park, took some pictures, and decided to find a different place to hike because it was incredibly windy. Around four we made it to a hiking spot and took a three hour hike up to the top of a place dubbed rocky mountain and back down. The views from the top the mountain were amazing, we even saw sheep grazing on the hillside on the way up. We got clear views of Mt. Aspiring and Lake Wanaka, but of course the pictures don't really do it justice. Today we head off to Arrowtown, Queenstown, and Glenorchy for more adventures and on Sunday we start the Kepler track. That's all for now, I'll try and write again soon.
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Mom
non-member comment
Hi!
Hey glad the weather has cleared. Not sure if you go the last comment I wrote so I'll try again. The Becks, Dad and I hiked to Hawk Creek yesterday on a sunny day. Fun and Yum! The Oregon mist arrived today for awhile and the lastest report is possible snow in the valley. I be busy working on my class assignments and Dad getting our business started. Wish I was hiking with you! Love, Mom