New Zealand Update

 Well, we left Richmond having had a look around Nelson, including a look around the ultra modern Catherdral. From there we set off around the Tasman Bay to the Abel Tasman National Park, eventually arriving at Marahau (see picture opposite) We spent a couple of days here, enjoying the sunshine and taking a walk up the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, finishing up at Tinline Bay.

The next day we set off the Nelson Lakes where we were due to spend the night at one of the Department of Conservation campsites - however by the time we had got to the lake it was raining very hard, and this then turned to snow - at which point we changed our plans and moved on - just as fast as our wheels would carry us.

 We drove West to a place called Murchinson and spent the night there - on the campsite was a small petting zoo with some very tame animals - there was an emu, deer, geese and sheep sharing the same enclosure. There was also an extremely hairy pig dressed in black and white colours - so we christened him Fulham. From Murchinson we drove up the Buller Gorge towards Westport. On the way we stopped off to cross  yet another suspension swing bridge - these are becoming a feature of the trip and are very popular in New Zealand. This one crossed the Buller River and allowed us to try our hand at .....

 ...Gold Panning. We were given a demonstration by someone who had clearly done it before, then we were let loose on the river so that we could have a go. Here is Jane wondering if her fortune is about to be made - sadly it wasnt!. However what we did find were a huge amount of sandflies - which produce some very itchy bites. We had already picked up quite a few of these in the Abel Tasman NP so this time we went prepared, but even smothered in repellent they nearly drove us crazy. Anyway after one unsuccessful panning attempt we gave up and continued on our drive to Westport.
  Westport was a quiet place on the West Coast and thus on the Pacific Ocean - a useful overnight stop and a lovely seal colony to visit.

From there we went via Pancake Rocks to the town of Greymouth. Just outside Greymouth we took a walk along a renowned gemstone beach and found .... none!  From Greymouth we went south down the coast to Franz Josef, where we visited the glaciers at FJ and then Foxes Glacier (where supposedly they make the mints)  Heres a pic of Jane stood in front of the FJ Glacier with the piles of moraine on either side of it.  We also popped to Lake Matheson to take some picture postcard type shots of Mts Cook and Tasman reflected in the waters of the lake. Then from there onto Haast - all the time the weather was lovely and sunny if a little cool. On the way we popped onto the Monro Beach Walk to see some rare and very shy Fiordland Penguins - It was a 45 minutes walk to the beach from the van - number of very shy penguins seen on beach - quantity 0! We then turned inland and drove down over the Haast Pass to Wanaka, stopping off to view some wonderful waterfalls on the way, thunder falls and fantail falls.

Once in Wanaka we took a stroll out to Eely point and had lunch on the lakeside there. The next day we went up Mt irons, quite a steep climb and an even steeper descent. Thereafter we went to Puzzling World, spending an hour in the maze 30 mins to get to all four corners as required by the task, then 30 mins to get back out again - heres a pic of the maze showing the two different levels - we went across the bridge 543 times at least.
Next day it was a long drive South and west to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland in the South West corner of NZ. The trip took about 3and a half hours.

we spent a day in Te Anau, walking round the lakeside (just a tiny bit of it!) then visiting the wildlife centre where some very cold birds such as a kaka, kea and takahe were on show - all very rare! By this time the weather had set in and there was a 4 inch snowfall that night. The department of conservation were still declaring the round to Milford Sound open however so we set off, along the snow covered road. About a quarter of the way we stopped to put the snow chains on, (only put on the van as an afterthought!)  and then shortly after that drove off the road onto the verge and spent 10 mins reversing back and forth getting back on the road again! (Jane had her head in her hands at this point and was doing her Private Fraser impression) Still we continued to Knobs Flat, where they announced the road was closed so we came all the way back again. Which is where we are now, waiting to see if the road to anywhere is open, as the road back to Queenstown and Wanaka is also closed due to the heaviest snowfalls in 70-odd years. Where will we go next? - more in our next exciting installment.......