Saturday to Wednesday

We skyped home on Saturday morning and discovered there had been a bit of drama at home. Jess, Kath and Ryan have all been stars and coped really well. Since then if we have had wifi we have used it to skype or call home so this is an update of the last 5 days.

We managed to complete the Rob Roy glacier walk on Saturday - the sun was out so we could see the mountain tops and there hadn't been too much overnight rain so the 30km gravel road with 10 fords was open. It was well worth the journey and our little van coped really well with the fords. I have to admit I left it to Martin to do the 4 by 4 driving! While walking up we heard a loud rumble and when we were up by the glacier we saw a small avalanche. Definitely our best walk up to now. We overnighted at a DOC camp and found a spot sheltered on 2 sides by trees and bushes as the wind was gale force.

The next morning we followed the Haast highway to the West Coast stopping at waterfalls and blue pools. We got to Fox Glacier by mid afternoon and walked from the town to see the glacier. We were disappointed at how far away from the glacier the path ended due to the danger of ice and rockfalls (though I do understand the need for safety).

Confession: the next morning we were so full of thoughts of home having just spoken to both of the girls we drove off our campsite pitch without unplugging the power cable! Luckily no damage was done and we now have a note on the steering wheel.

We walked around Lake Matheson which is renowned for its reflection of Mount Cook. Unfortunately we just saw a great reflection of the clouds surrounding Mount Cook but it was still a pleasant walk. We noticed how much busier this area is having completed several hikes without encountering anyone else we were now waiting at viewpoints to get a look see. Next stop was the Franz Josef glacier and this time we got much closer. You can only get onto the glacier by paying about £200 to ride up in a helicopter. There were plenty of takers as the helicopters were buzzing in and out the whole time we were walking through the valley.

We drove on to Hokitika to a DOC site on a lakeshore with a fab panoramic view of the southern alps and we watched the sky and the mountains redden as the sun set.

Yesterday we drove all day just stopping for quick walks to see pancake stack rocks at Punakaiki and a seal colony at Cape Foulwind (aptly named by Captain Cook). We stopped at a very large campsite with a fitness trail, go kart track (currently being mown by sheep), adventure playground and farmyard. We were the only ones there! Apparently it does get busy at weekends and in the summer.

Today was just a short hop into the Abel Tasman national park. In the last major town before the park we made use of the free wifi offered by the library - sat outside on a bench. Whilst Martin downloaded some podcasts (including my weekly fix of the Archers) I made a cuppa in the van, buttered some scones and took them to the bench. We hiked for about 3.5 hours this afternoon along the coast track, stopping on a lovely quiet beach to soak up the sun and rest our weary feet before turning back to camp.