Abel Tasman National Park

Its been quite wet today - started raining late morning and hasn't really stopped.  But we still went on our different expeditions to the Abel Tasman National Park.  We were picked up at 8.30 and driven to Kaiteriteri.  Penny and John went for a 3 hour kayak tour before coming back to Motueka.  Alan and I caught the sea shuttle an hour north to Medlands Bay and walked back to Anchorage, a distance of around 14 kms.  We really enjoyed it even though most of it was in the rain.  The coastal track is a very popular and we were surprised how many people we passed (or passed us).  We found a Department of Conservation hut at Anchorage and spent an hour sheltering from the rain waiting for the return shuttle.  We were very glad to get back to the campground and have hot showers.

Greymouth to Motueka

Another clear and sunny day, which was great for our adventures today.  We headed north from Greymouth along the spectacular scenery of the Tasman coast.

We stopped at Punakaiki and did a short walk to the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, which were amazing (the Rocks that is - it was too calm for much action from the Blowholes).

We continued on through beautiful river valleys to Motueka, at the southern end of the Abel Tasman National Park, which we will visit in various ways tomorrow.  Fortunately there were not too many mountains to drive over as our motor home has developed problems climbing, which is not terribly useful in New Zealand!!   There were orchards and hop farms over the last few kilometres into Motueka, which were lovely to see.

We are comfortably ensconced here for 2 nights.  There is a vintage car rally in town, and these 2 are behind our motor home.

Fox Glacier Township to Greymouth

Woke to a clear sky, which was amazing after the cloud and mizzle yesterday.  We got some great views of Mt Tasman, Mt Cook and Fox Glacier.

We drove the short distance to Franz Joseph Glacier and did the 1 1/2 hour return walk to the terminal face.

Left the glacier late morning and arrived at Hokitika mid afternoon. We had a look at some jade carving, which the area is known for, and drove 30 minutes out of town to Hokitika Gorge, which is quite beautiful.

It was a short drive to Greymouth, and our caravan park is right on the beach.

Sunset over Tasman Sea

Another day of spectacular mountains, glaciers and rivers, though the mountains are more at a distance now.

Queenstown - Fox Glacier Township

We were on the road before 7.00 this morning and headed out to Arrowtown, an old gold mining town.

We then drove via the scenic Crown Range Road to Wanaka, where we had breakfast.

More beautiful driving past glacial lakes and rugged mountains until we headed through Haast Pass to the coast.  The weather changed from fine and sunny and its been misty and cool all afternoon.  We drove along the Tasman Sea for a distance, and it was very calm but there were certainly signs of very rough weather.

We arrived at the township mid afternoon and checked in and then headed up to Fox Glacier.  I was very surprised to learn that Penny had never seen a glacier before.

Queenstown

We spent today in Queenstown and did some washing etc before heading out this morning.  Penny and John booked to go white water rafting this afternoon so were relaxing when Alan and I set out around 11 for a 2 hour walk to climb Queenstown Hill, a 900m climb.  We couldn't decide whether going up or down was worse - down was certainly harder on the knees!  In retrospect it was enjoyable but we weren't sure at the time.  Most of it was through a Douglas Fir forest so was in the shade which was quite pleasant otherwise it would have been very hot.

We ended up back in town and had lunch by Queenstown Bay and it was nice to sit in the shade and relax and watch the world go by.  We did some shopping before heading back to the motor home for a rest.

We walked back to town for a very nice dinner and then sat and watched the sunset over the Remarkables.  Its light very late so that takes some getting used to.

All sorts of activities happen by Queenstown Harbour!!

Manapouri to Queenstown

We had a much more leisurely start this morning and left Manapouri at around 10.00.  It was a stunning drive this morning through very green paddocks with sheep and deer grazing and rugged mountains behind.

View while washing up this morning

We drove beside Lake Wakatipu and then on to Queenstown, where we arrived about 12.30 and checked in to a very nice holiday park.

We went up the Gondola and got fabulous views of the Remarkables.  We wandered around through the shopping area and out to the Botanic Gardens before walking back to the motor homes, stopping for groceries on the way.

The weather was again fabulous - its been cold at night and in the morning but quite hot in the afternoon.

Doubtful Sound

We've had a lovely day today cruising Doubtful Sound and the weather was really good - no rain.  It was cloudy this morning but that burnt off mid morning.  We were picked up at 7.30 so an early start.  We drove into Manapouri, where we caught a boat across Lake Manapouri.

These early morning play havoc with sleep

We then headed off to the Manapouri power station where we drove 2 kms down a spiral tunnel to the machine hall.

We then drove across Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound where we cruised to the Tasman Sea and back.

Note white tree slide left of centre - when a tree falls because of wind and rain it takes out
lower trees that are all shallow rooted.

We returned by the same route and enjoyed spectacular scenery all day.

We drove in to Te Anau tonight for dinner out - a belated 33rd wedding anniversary celebration.

Lake Te Anau

A 7 seater bike - don't know how it works.