Looking down towards the valley

Wet 'n' wild on the West Coast!

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May 31st 2005
Wet is for all the rain that we've seen on the West Coast, for the fantastically choppy Tasman Sea, and for the temperate rainforest that surrounds us here. Wild is for some of the weather we've seen, for the rugged scenery and for the day we had glacier hiking yesterday - fantastic. And the west coast of NZ is where we are now. We drove from Nelson over two days, mostly in rainy and overcast w ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Franz Josef

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The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more