Our day started with a hike through primeval rainforest. Really ancient looking stuff- with moss of all kinds growing on everything. We expected to see a velociraptor peeking out from the dense undergrowth any second during our walk... We heard some very foreign-to-our-ears bird calls and thought of our friend Scott who might be able to recognize these calls. One sounded like a wooden flute. It was unlike any bird I've ever heard.
After the hike and lunch, we drove to the Fox Glacier access. Wow. There's a lot of ice up in those mountains! It's actually 5 or 6 glaciers that make up one huge ice mass. The sight of the Fox glacier is impressive. We had planned on walking up to the glacier face, but a man from the conservation department told us the route was closed due to some very recent rock sliding from above, so unfortunately we could only admire it from afar. Lots of people take helicopter rides from the town up to the glacier, land and then walk about on top of it. The advertisements really push the idea of throwing actual snowballs in the summer! Well, I get to throw my own snow balls in about a week, so that didn't seem so interesting.
So we hit the road. And headed South along the west Coast, continuing through the Southern Alps. This is where it got good. The sun came out, the clouds blew away and the mountains of Mount Aspiring National Park rose in front of us in majestic form. It was jaw-dropping, eye-popping, mind-blowing fantasmagorific beauty like I've never seen. I was driving through Middle Earth! (Lord of the Rings reference) Except Middle Earth had a heck of a lot of cows and sheep. I know our pictures won't do it justice, but it was wonderful. My heart was singing all day. The glacier streams are so crystal clear that they look blue. In the pictures that are true to real color, the water looks unreal it's so blue. But really- it IS like that.
We took many stops along the way today- we stopped on the coast twice (Robin is still searching for the perfect stone) and along 2 inland lakes- Lake Wanaka, and Lake Hawea. There are no dwellings around these lakes except at one end. It is pure unspoiled wilderness. The sailor in me wished like heck for a boat today, for the wind was really blowing like stink and no one was out there. There are boats but they are only at the Southern ends of these lakes. They are blue, clear and very cold lakes.
We stopped for dinner before checking in to our amazing B & B this evening. We are staying at the Mountian Range B&B in Wanaka. I am sitting on the bed typing this as the sun is almost completely gone now it's 9:45 p.m. here- summer long days, and can look out the window at the mountians. It is pretty special. We might be the only people here tonight for it's very quiet and we've just sort of holed up in the room, looking at photos from the day and working on this blog.
The night sky looks to be clear, so we might have to go out and lie in the hammocks side by side to find the Southern Cross in the heavens. Robin did some reconnoitering and discovered a telescope in the garage, so maybe we can clear our throats and drop some hints at some point. Perhaps we can get a tour of the Southern Constellations.
But Robin lies here snoring as I type, so maybe that might have to wait until tomorrow night.
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