Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Short drive from Franz Josef up the coast to Greymouth. Now, not forgetting that we are on the main road and single lane, one-way bridges are normal, it came as a bit of a surprise to be faced with one just south of Greymouth that was not only single-lane but one that we shared with the train as well. One lane plus train bridge. Grey mouth NZ We were early for checking, so we decided to take the 45km drive further up the cost to Punakaiki to look at something described as 'pancake rocks and geysers'. Fortunately, the rain cleared long enough for us to take the 20 minute walk around the path out onto the headland to view what turned out to be quite extraordinary rock formations. Pancake rocks. Punakaiki NZ Pancake rocks. Punakaiki NZ Pancake rocks. Punakaiki NZ Pancake rocks. Punakaiki NZ Pancake rocks. Punakaiki NZ The only other thing to see was the Cavern, a few hundred metres down the road. It's a cave that anyone can walk into, and provide...

Today is glacier day and we are treated with grey skies, but not actually raining. We have to eat breakfast out this morning, so its about 10am or so before we head toward the carpark. As we are crossing the river, a minor miracle happens. See photo below: Peeking through the clouds. Franz Josef Glacier NZ What's this? Could it be a break in the clouds? Is that the sun and is it actually shining on just the glacier? We get more and more excited as we get closer to the carpark. Franz Josef Glacier NZ Franz Josef Glacier NZ The trail from the carpark starts of through a bit of a rainforest, so the view is obscured right until you top a small rise and them - Wham! Franz Josef Glacier NZ Now isn't that one of the prettiest sights you've ever seen? The trail eventually spills out onto the moraine left from the million years of reaching glacier and you walk along the valley floor on a rough formed path where 10,000 have already walked before (and that...

Wow, how different each day is. Yesterday was fantastic, today its cloudy and rainy again. We are heading out this morning, going toward Franz Josef Glacier. But first we have the big Alpine climb over the pass from Queenstown to Cardrona, which is steep and twisty and sheer drops on every side. Nice enough views though and then it levels out for the run through to Wanaka, which is on the edge of a lake of the same name. We chose not to stop, just take a drive around as we have a fair way to go and the weather is turning dirty. By the time we reach Makarora there is no visibility, we are driving through a cloud, and we are basically at sea level. Hard to imagine that there are towering mountains all-round, we just can't see them. We stop at the Makarora Country Cafe for a coffee and rest before we take on the Haast Pass. The cafe is decked out in lots of timber panelling and has a huge collection of number-plates decorating the walls, the ceiling, the beams... Then its back o...

Today turned out to be a cracker: almost clear sky, sunny, warm (25), no wind... Almost perfect. First thing then is to get up to the Gondola ride up to Bobs Peak above the town, and while we're there we might as ell have a go on the Luge as well. Judy enjoying the ride on the gondola. Queenstown NZ Up and up, 490 metres vertical climb.750m long. Queenstown NZ The view isn't bad at the top. Queenstown NZ My mum & dad came here in 1976. Queenstown NZ So we had to try and recreate the snap. Queenstown NZ On to the Luge. You walk down a bit to the start where you grab a helmet and then catch the ski-lift up to the start of the track. They are cunning, the ski lift also automatically picks up two luges at a time and takes them as well. At the top, there are two Luge runs: the Blue beginners track and the Red track. All newbies have to do the Blue track first, and what a great little track it is, fast enough and lots of corners to play around wit...

Just a short run today from Te Anau to Queenstown. Last bit after you reach Lake Wakatipu is fairly scenic, with a few lookouts to stop and take snaps if you feel inclined. Lake Wakatipu NZ  Lake Wakatipu NZ Lake Wakatipu NZ We found our place easily enough: it's right on the lake just out of the city centre. Pretty damn nice actually, and the view from the picture windows is, well, a picture. View from Villa Del Lago, Queenstown NZ We had to go and get food, so we ventured down town, which may have been a mistake: it's just crawling with backpackers and other seedy looking characters. I mean, it's wall to wall people all looking for a free feed or place to stay or some action, or whatever. Bit disappointing really, it could be such a beautiful town with lovely parks and walkways right on the lake. But wait, there's worse, namely the old camp ground, and the new campground which happen to be next to each other. One has a ring of old bachs, really old...