Westport and Franz Josef arrival

We left Abel Tasman basking in glorious sunshine on Friday morning - typical when we've got a day in the car! We did however have a couple of stops on route to our next destination - Westport. The first stop was at a lake called Rotoroa Lake where we had some lunch. The views were really stunning but slightly spoilt by the millions of midges swarming us for a feed. We got a couple of quick snaps and then opted for lunch in the car to avoid becoming lunch ourselves! We continued our journey stopping off at Buller Gorge where we walked across the very long swingbridge. It was really narrow making it difficult to pass others - one woman looked petrified and didn't want to let go of the rail! On arrival at Westport it was quite windy so we looked for a sheltered area to protect the tent (we have used all our spare poles now). The Geordies arrived shortly after us so that evening we chilled out in the camp kitchen playing cards and planning our next day.

Yesterday we were up fairly early and went to Tauranga Bay where we (plus the Geordies) did a 2 hour walk out to the seal colony and back. The weather was fantastic and the seals were basking on the rocks enjoying the sunshine as well. After having a picnic we went back into town and wanted to visit the local brewery for a tour and tasting. Unfortunately they were shut so we had to make do with a pint across the road in the local pub. Back at the campsite we spent the rest of the day by our tents chatting and enjoying the last of the rays. For dinner we had pancakes as we'd forgotten about Shrove Tuesday followed by a cheese board!

Today we packed up and headed for Franz Josef. The drive along the coast is considered to be one of the best drives for scenery and we weren't disappointed. The views across the unusual coastal rock formations (due to stylobedding - a weathering layer process) were up there with the Twelve Apostles. Turning inland the landscape began to change and we knew we were entering the 'Glacier Country'. This place is like Scotland on steroids! We arrived at the campsite late afternoon and after popping into town for some supplies we chilled with a cup of tea and watched the Winter Olympics on the TV - very lazy! Tomorrow we plan to go to Lake Matheson where you can walk around it and view the area in it's full glory. On Tuesday we're heading up to the glacier itself on a guided tour!

Hope all is good at home.

Love

Mark & Rach. xxx

PS - Travelling must be good for you - Mark got asked for his ID as the woman in the store thought he looked under 25!!