Both Sides of South Island Now Seen

Well that's officially the coldest I've ever been.  Minus 10 degrees in Hanmer Springs last night.  Luckily we had a cosy, warm motel unit with heaters and thick doonas so were snug as bugs.  Only when Larry went to open the sliding glass door to the outside and had to crack the ice off the lock did it hit home what it was really like outside.  Also ice frosted around the inside latches of the bathroom window!

We finally prized ourselves out of our cosy beds and, after a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs which we'd taken with us from the previous night's farm stay, it was time to chisel the ice off the car and head off on our long journey southwards.

Although funnily enough we actually had to head northwards first through the Lewis Pass.   This was actually the bit of the trip I'd been worried about as I had heard on the news last week that this pass was closed due to snow and I was imagining a high mountain pass with ice and snow everywhere.  In actual fact the pass tended to follow the valley floors and was heavily forested but a few days of sunshine had thawed most ice and there were only a few frosty places.  Actually very pretty with the snow and frost on the trees - looked like a Christmas Card.  We had to stop for a very photo stops but not too many as it was well after midday before the outside temperature reading on the car was anything over 0 degrees!

Stopped for a late morning tea in Reefton at a lovely bakery and then, literally, started heading down to Greymouth.  There were lots of spots where water along the roadside cliffs had frozen into fabulous icicle displays.  Unfortunately they were usually on blind corners so nowhere to stop for a photo (although Kate got one from the car window!)  Drove on through Greymouth and as we hit the coast the temperature gradually climbed til it topped out at about 10 degrees by the time we reached Hokitika.  Time to stop and stretch the legs and peruse the jade factories and shops.  Bought a few pieces and then to the chippery for a late lunch.

Time to hop back in the car and continue south through the rainforests of the west coast.  Lots of NZ fern, some still with frost on them where they are in shady corners that never see the winter sun.  We got into Franz Josef just after 4pm and decided to head straight to the glacier carpark for a view of the glacier we had come so far to see.  Seemed a good idea to do so whilst the weather is still clear blue skies as rain is forecast again for tomorrow.  Could just see it but it seems a bit further up the valley than I remember from when I was last here in 1982.

Back to our new motel to offload and do some washing then back into the township for a yummy 3 course meal at Alice May's - spinach soup, roast pork (not Larry)and really excellent sticky date pudding.

Exciting day tomorrow as we have booked to go on a Heli-Hike. We are catching a chopper up to the top of the glacier and spending about 3 hours on the ice with a guide. This is dependent on the weather so fingers crossed the weather will be kind.