New Zealand's South Island

We started out for the South Island as the sun was rising.  We were taking our car on the Interislander Ferry. 

 

 

We are waiting in line to drive onto the ferry.

Two cruise ships had just come into the harbor when we left on the ferry.

We got to Picton on the South Island three hours later.  Jerry stayed up top, but it was much too cold for me.  I sat in the reclining lounge on the comfortable chairs where it was warm.  I will post pictures of  Cook Strait on the next post of our return trip. 

 It was beautiful, sunny, and warm that day, so the pictures turned out gorgeous! 

 

The sound from Queen Charlotte Drive (at a lookout spot.)

Rocky!!  This church is in Nelson, on the north shore of the South Island.

They are having a drought in New Zealand. 
 It has rained one day in the three weeks we've been here. 
 It usually rains almost every day at this time of year. 
These boats are showing the effects of the drought.




We took a trail on the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
Jerry and I were tramping!

 We drove the Queen Charlotte Drive.  The views of Abel Tasman National Park were incredible!

 

It was hard to get it in a picture.  It was breathtaking!

We went to Franz Josef the next day, and saw the glacier.  (This pic is off the internet.)

 

We took a path near Franz Josef Glacier.    Wow!








 Fox Glacier was nearby. 
In the parking lot,
was this sheer rock!

We hiked up to Fox Glacier.  It got steep at times.

The path was very rocky from the glacier's path.

 
We made it!  It was exciting to see the glacier up close.

It was a very cloudy day, and we were only able to see Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, for a minute.  This is from the west side.  Later in our trip, we were able to see it from the east on a clear day.

 

Many of the rivers in New Zealand have "gravel bars" instead of sand bars, which was surprising.  This is a typical river, and the drought no doubt has made it worse.

 

 

Thunder Creek Falls  on our way to Lake Wanaka.

 

 

We stopped to see the Blue Pools in Mt. Aspiring National Park.  This is part of the trail.                                                        The pools have this gorgeous aquamarine color. The water is so clear, you can see the bottom. All the water in New Zealand is like that.

We made it to Lake Wanaka and our Wyndham condo as the sun was setting.  This is the view out our sliding door of Mt. Aspiring National Park.  Beautiful! 

 

Here is the kitchen and dining area.

 

 

We had a nice-size bed. 

The furniture in the living room was very comfortable.

 

 

 

 

And the pool was right outside our unit. 

It had the best waterslide which curved and then shot you out over the water!  Jerry and I had a lot of fun going down it.  There was a hot tub also.  

 

 

 

After going full speed for 2 weeks, this condo week was a welcome change. We relaxed and regrouped for the next leg of our trip.

 

 

We passed this road sign. 
You don't see this one everyday!

 

 

 

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