Rainy day fun

We were told it would be a rainy day and it is.  We are hoping by the time we get to Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, the downpour will have let up. We have a few things left to see before heading back to Queenstown in a few days.  So far we have covered a lot of ground on the South Island.  We started off at Queenstown (hiked, Shotover jet boat through canyons) and made our way to Arrowtown (gold panning, Chinese settlement), Te Anau/Milford Sound (cruise:seals, weka and kea birds), Queenstown/Glenorchy (hike, sheep traffic jam), Oamaru/Moereki (blue penguins, yellow eyed penguins, boulders, light house hike), Hanmer Springs (hot springs, water park, bees),  Kaikoura (coastal walk, the Blow, seal colony), Nelson (wineries), Abel Tasman/Riwaka/kaiteriteri (silver fern farms, hiking, beaches, sting rays, split Apple rock, cruise), Motueka (down time:hung out at hotel and enjoyed the pool etc), Ngarua (caving), Greymouth/pancake rocks:punakaiki (Dolphins, pancake rocks, Boardwalk hike, tavern).  We have almost covered the whole southern scenic route on the South Island. Check it out on a South Island map mom ;-)

So far on this trip Derek has done all the driving.  He says he enjoys it.  Probably wants to so he doesn't have to put up with my 'scenic' Sunday afternoon driving! He has gotten much better with using the signals and not switching on the windshield wipers to turn right.  After he gained the name Mudhead, he has not locked the keys in the car again ( with the help of the three of us reminding him to pass the keys before closing the door). However, yesterday he did drop them in the trunk and had to take everything out to find them ( it is an art to fit all of our stuff in such a tiny space so some of us had to wear earmuffs!).  Btw Steve, we are two packs too many as the weather has been superb.  Derek still manages to do a walk around the car every time he goes to get in the drivers seat.  Of course we laugh and often see other loopies and locals smirking too.

The people of NZ are very helpful and friendly. We were told they go barefoot most of the time and it's not until they are in high school when the kids start wearing shoes and that is only because they tend to start dressing up more!  One Kiwi told us that growing up on a farm they would break the ice with their bare feet and then step in the cow manure to get them warmed up.  Who knows if that is true but we thought it was funny. They have interesting road signs (penguin crossing signs, speed limit is not a target so drive to the conditions) posted on the quiet long windy roads.  We rarely see other cars on the road and when we do, Derek tells me I often say "Wow, there's a lot of traffic (and there may only be three cars)."  

Still raining but we hopped out for a walk in the Hokitika Gorge, swing bridge.  Dressed in our rain gear reminded me of the scene from the Great Outdoors movie when the twins went exploring and fell in the cave.  We looked just like that...drowned rats! Speaking of rats, we have been told that there is an over abundance of rats and possums on the island that is threatening all the native species such as kea birds, wekas and kiwis.  Possums are like our raccoons. We see them all over, especially as road kill. 

Yeah! We are so lucky. The sun came out just as we pulled into the Franz Josef glacier. We walked an hour to the glacier to view it from 200 meters away.  When the sun was shining, it was a beautiful turquoise colour.  We saw one of the ice cave entrances but we're not allowed to enter due to the rubble and rocks falling.  We think we saw the infamous Kea birds flying above but no luck with getting a pic.  Also, we got to hold a hundred year old ice cube! A guide stopped us and gave it to the boys.  He saw it fall and land in the stream so he jumped in and picked it up to show his group.  His group did not speak any English (Chinese) so he wasn't sure how excited they were but he knew the boys would think it was.  Lucky us!  

We will head to the Fox glacier tomorrow.  For those reading this and following our adventures, thank you and miss you lots.  For those commenting and emailing, it's been great hearing from you.  Don't forget to check out the boys blogs. Carter loves blogging and Braden, well he likes his Instagram!