Day Six – Wellington to Hanmer Springs
Today was a long day of traveling but the weather came right for us and we had some spectacular views coming into the Marlborough Sounds on our 3.5 hour ferry journey over the Cook Strait.
Here is the huge ferry we went on. It not only carried passengers and cars but huge trailer trucks.
Time to board the boat!
We hung out on the top deck to get some windblown pictures.
We landed in Picton and headed straight to the St Claire Vineyard to taste some delicious Marlborough wines, followed by some delicious cheeses at the Pataka gourmet food store and some mouth watering chocolates across the road at Makana Chocolates.
After wine, chocolate!
We then headed west, stopping in St Arnaud for a comfort stop and the riveting town of Murchison for dinner. Finally we headed along the Lewis Pass and down in to Hanmer Springs, our home for two nights. The drive to Hanmer Springs was just beautiful!
Day Seven – Hanmer Springs
Today was a free day for us to enjoy relaxing in a small country town. In the morning, Marie took a group of us on a hike to Dog Stream Waterfall in the morning.
A group of us went to the hot springs to sit in thermal pools and even a sulfur pool that people say will make us look 10 years younger. Note, it didn't work.
In the afternoon, we got back together as a whole group and went mini golfing.
We had a few drinks in the early evening and then disbanded for dinner before hitting the hay after a long day in the sun.
Day Eight – Hanmer Springs to Franz Josef
Today we had to take a slightly different route than what was on the itinerary due to Arthurs Pass being closed after a slip the previous week. Arthur's Pass was blocked due to recent slip. Road is only open each hour for 10 minutes so you can wait in queue for 2+ hours. So we took Lewis Pass to west coast.
Instead we headed back over the Lewis through the long white cloud that gave New Zealand it's Maori name of Aotearoa. We stopped in the cute little town of Reefton where we managed to catch some of the South Island Wood Chopping Championships!
And the Darwin award goes to the man standing in a bucket on the tractor.
After travelling through the Buller Gorge we arrived at Cape Foulwind to see some native New Zealand Fur Seals after which we travelled south down the coast to the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Dolmite Blowholes in the Paparoa National Park. After demolishing some of the largest pancake stacks I've ever seen we continued south to the town of Hokitika for a double panorama photo on the beach and a short talk about pounamu, or New Zealand greenstone, at a local carving studio. Another couple of hours driving south brought us to Franz Josef and our rainforest accommodation where we had dinner at Monsoon Restaurant.
Do you see the seals? Look harder, there are a lot.
No seal in these next photos. You can stop looking so hard.
Panoramic picture with everyone of either side of the sign. Double trouble and double the fun.
Day Nine – Franz Josef
Today we had a free day to explore the natural geographical and geological features that make this area famous. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play nice. I was signed up to do a helicopter ride to the Franz Josef glacier and then hike on the glacier. Unfortunately, our morning flight was cancelled. We then decided to explore the Waiau Valley on foot in the morning and hope that we could re-book for the afternoon.
In the town, Bessie and I visited the Kiwi House to learn about the most popular bird in NZ.
Look at the size of Kiwi eggs compared to chicken eggs,
This is x-ray of a pregnant Kiwi. Look at the size of that egg!!
We re-booked for an afternoon helicopter trip which was also cancelled. So instead I took a few selfies in the fake glacier area.
Here you can see my selfie background.
After the second cancellation, Bessie and I were determined to see the glacier. So we set off on foot to walk to the glacier.
So sad that we weren't able to take a helicopter ride. We will try again at Mt. Cook.
Today was a long day of traveling but the weather came right for us and we had some spectacular views coming into the Marlborough Sounds on our 3.5 hour ferry journey over the Cook Strait.
Here is the huge ferry we went on. It not only carried passengers and cars but huge trailer trucks.
Time to board the boat!
We hung out on the top deck to get some windblown pictures.
We landed in Picton and headed straight to the St Claire Vineyard to taste some delicious Marlborough wines, followed by some delicious cheeses at the Pataka gourmet food store and some mouth watering chocolates across the road at Makana Chocolates.
After wine, chocolate!
We then headed west, stopping in St Arnaud for a comfort stop and the riveting town of Murchison for dinner. Finally we headed along the Lewis Pass and down in to Hanmer Springs, our home for two nights. The drive to Hanmer Springs was just beautiful!
Day Seven – Hanmer Springs
Today was a free day for us to enjoy relaxing in a small country town. In the morning, Marie took a group of us on a hike to Dog Stream Waterfall in the morning.
A group of us went to the hot springs to sit in thermal pools and even a sulfur pool that people say will make us look 10 years younger. Note, it didn't work.
In the afternoon, we got back together as a whole group and went mini golfing.
We had a few drinks in the early evening and then disbanded for dinner before hitting the hay after a long day in the sun.
Day Eight – Hanmer Springs to Franz Josef
Today we had to take a slightly different route than what was on the itinerary due to Arthurs Pass being closed after a slip the previous week. Arthur's Pass was blocked due to recent slip. Road is only open each hour for 10 minutes so you can wait in queue for 2+ hours. So we took Lewis Pass to west coast.
Instead we headed back over the Lewis through the long white cloud that gave New Zealand it's Maori name of Aotearoa. We stopped in the cute little town of Reefton where we managed to catch some of the South Island Wood Chopping Championships!
And the Darwin award goes to the man standing in a bucket on the tractor.
After travelling through the Buller Gorge we arrived at Cape Foulwind to see some native New Zealand Fur Seals after which we travelled south down the coast to the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Dolmite Blowholes in the Paparoa National Park. After demolishing some of the largest pancake stacks I've ever seen we continued south to the town of Hokitika for a double panorama photo on the beach and a short talk about pounamu, or New Zealand greenstone, at a local carving studio. Another couple of hours driving south brought us to Franz Josef and our rainforest accommodation where we had dinner at Monsoon Restaurant.
Do you see the seals? Look harder, there are a lot.
No seal in these next photos. You can stop looking so hard.
Panoramic picture with everyone of either side of the sign. Double trouble and double the fun.
Day Nine – Franz Josef
Today we had a free day to explore the natural geographical and geological features that make this area famous. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play nice. I was signed up to do a helicopter ride to the Franz Josef glacier and then hike on the glacier. Unfortunately, our morning flight was cancelled. We then decided to explore the Waiau Valley on foot in the morning and hope that we could re-book for the afternoon.
In the town, Bessie and I visited the Kiwi House to learn about the most popular bird in NZ.
Look at the size of Kiwi eggs compared to chicken eggs,
This is x-ray of a pregnant Kiwi. Look at the size of that egg!!
We re-booked for an afternoon helicopter trip which was also cancelled. So instead I took a few selfies in the fake glacier area.
Here you can see my selfie background.
After the second cancellation, Bessie and I were determined to see the glacier. So we set off on foot to walk to the glacier.
So sad that we weren't able to take a helicopter ride. We will try again at Mt. Cook.
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