3/18 - Whateroa to Kinloch

The next morning I woke to a grey sky, but assurances from several people that the weather should be clearing. I thanked Gary (Arab) for his hospitality, then took off for lands further south. My first planned stop was the Franz Josef Glacier national park. There is a hike here that allows you to get practically to the foot of the glacier.

                                             

There are some guided hikes that allow you to traverse the glacier, but it's dangerous to do on one's own, because the glacier can suddenly shift, trapping an unwary traveller. It was amazing seeing the glacier. What particularly caught my attention was the river emerging from within it. It was carrying so much mineral deposit, that the water took on a whiteish color.

After visiting the glacier, I continued south, and the rains followed me. And because I was driving, this wasn't a bad thing. Some of the most breathtaking scenery passed me by - huge tree covered cliffs partially obscured by low-lying clouds, waterfalls cascading down their wooded cliffs, lending an air of otherworldly mystery to their majestic appearance.

After taking a rest (despite the excellent sleep I'd had at Gary's, I still hadn't caught up on the debt of the several days before), I continued on south, slowly leaving the coast, and rain behind me. I drove straight past Wanaka and Queenstown - I planned to visit both on the way back. I made my way to the Kinloch lodge, about a half hour past the small village of Glenorchy, near the entrance of the Routeburn track - the hike I wanted to do the next day. The picture below is a rainbow I saw on my way to Glenorchy.

                                      
I was placing my stuff in my four bed dorm room and coming out the door which looked across a small courtyard to the common room, and there were three people waving at me. After a second, I realized these were my roommates. I went in and introduced myself. Two of them were a world traveling couple of Canadians named Sheila and Gary. They were traveling in New Zealand for a couple of months. Prior to that they had traveled widely around the world. We ended up sharing a hot tub and a bottle of wine and chatted about travel. They gave me advice about Thailand. Including that it would be a good place to learn how to scuba dive. It is a three day course for PADI certification, so I think it will fit nicely into my time in Thailand. It was really nice chatting with people who I feel like I connected with.