Franz Josef

Perfecting his card tricks

Knitting while we drive

One of the many 1 lane bridges

We added rocks to the collection. Dane opted to bring his home.

Driving through the mountains, by Lake Hawea, Lake Wanaka, and snow covered mountains made for a nice day. Mount Aspiring National Park was beautiful. Traveling alone the Haast Highway along the Haast River before we crossed the river on the longest single lane bridge in New Zealand with a view of the Tasman Sea. As we drove along the Tasman Sea on the flat coastal area then to the cliffs overlooking the sea. Next we went along Lake Moeraki which was surrounded by rain forests and lush vegetation. We added our names to the white rocks at Bruce Bay. After another lovely drive with warm weather and blue skies we arrived at Franz Josef. 

First order of business after getting our camp spot secured was heading to the Franz Josef Glacier. We walked for about an hour thru the dry river bed. This glacier is one of only a few that is located in a rainforest. It is amazing how you can see the glacier from far away but until you are standing up close you don't realize the size of it. There were photos along the way of how the glacier has changed over the years. The clouds made the walk cool but the sun did make a couple appearances and to see it reflect of the glacier was stunning. There was a constant hum of helicopters  around the valley and we even saw one land on the glacier. We met Papa for dinner and he took the kids across the street to get an up close look at the helicopters taking off and landing in the field. 

We ended the night with some ice cream treats and feeding the ponies that had wandered near our campsite.