Forest Peak Motel Hanmer Springs

... So we booked a 1/2 day, 5-hour hike on the glacier. We were really disappointed our helicopter ride got cancelled, but the hike was pretty amazing. We had to wear crampons on our boots to walk up the glacier. There were parts that had ice steps carved in the glacier, while other parts had rope we had to hang onto to not slip. It was so amazing. Underneath the dirty parts of ice/snow, there was so much blue ice that shown thru. It was so pretty. I took lots of ...

... to take it for granted and it is only after re-looking at the pictures that we realize how amazing some of these sites are.

So, as we map out our intended route to Milford Sound in the southern part of the South Island, we realize that we have about 900 km to get to Milford and 500 kms to go back north to Christ Church where we return our vehicle. The route to Milford goes over some of the higher points on the island ...

... interesting because it is winter here now, so there was snow on the mountains, but we were in swim suits (or "togs" as they call them here in New Zealand) relaxing in the hot springs. It was quite cold when we switched pools, but it was so beautiful looking out toward snow-covered mountains.

On the way home, we were running a little late for dinner at the base, so we stopped in Rangiora and got Pizza Hut. It was a wonderful day!

... wenigen Minuten ein Auto von hinten. Ein aelteres neuseelaendisches Paerchen hat mich dann mit in die Stadt hinunter genommen. Sie meinten, die Strasse waere immer grausamer geworden, sodass sie lieber umgedreht sind. Und selbst ihr brandneuer Mietwagen habe Probleme gehabt, die ersten Steigungen hochzukommen. Das Ende der Geschichte ist eher kurz, weil ich keine Zeit mehr habe. Die Mechaniker aus der Werkstatt haben mein Auto abgeholt (es konnte noch fahren) und einen Schlauch vom ...

... the seals but we didn't have time to see anything but the view. We figured Westport would be a nice little town-desolate is the only word to describe. It is a small port city but many of the storefronts were closed so we filled up with gas, drove through the town and headed back the Hanmer Springs. This time we took a different route through the mountains called Victoria Forest Park. The drive was harrowing at points as the road narrows to one lane ...

... for you though. The springs are excellent. Well worth a visit if any of you are ever over this way. Highly recommend it! Especially early evening as we got to see the sun go down and it was brilliant. You can stay in the water after dark and it is all lit up with little lights. We loved it. We went back to the camp site for dinner after our trip to the springs. Ed is planning to teach me how to play chess. Not sure how that will go!

... Springs is an alpine resort town, which has lots of walks and adventure activities, and in the winter there is a ski area. It also has thermal pools to relax in. We stayed at Settlers Inn Motel, and it was definitely deserving of its 5 star status. The couple who run it were very friendly and helpful and next time we go there we'll definitely stay there again. The motel is situated only 2-3 mins walk from town. On the Friday ...

... feel the need for speed" its awesome!!! By the time we finished I was cold, and hungry (yes, I am ALWAYS hungry) so we headed back to the motel where I had a nice spa bath and ate far too much! The next morning I awoke early again and went for a stroll along the main street, admiring the trees, the snow capped mountains and watching the steam rise up from the springs. I felt like a local - playing with all the locals dogs in the parks, and sitting on the ...

... loudly announcing to the world that everything looks like a pub ashtray, we head off. We continued north, skirting past Greymouth and stopped off at Pancake Rocks, a strang geological coastal site of thinly layered rocks rising in peaks from the sea. The name is a little deceptive (we thought they were going to be round) but 'Layered Rocks About an Inch Thick' isn't quite as catchy. There is also a blowhole here and loads of ...

... waters north of NZ. Sperm Whales dive hundreds of meters below the surface for a period of 30-60mins before returning to the surface for 3-8 mins to catch their breath. We were on a 2 and a half hour boat trip and managed to see two whales in this time! An on -board device tracked the whales to the rough area of their location but there was no telling when (in the 60min period since their last dive) and where that they would re-surface ...