We have been to the West Coast of S Island once before - and it rained. This time - it rained! As the area gets 6m of rain a year, that is not surprising. I know that the Southern Alps are stretched out along the coast and that they are utterly magnificent. I know it - but if I didn't, I wouldn't have believed that they were there. Rain and mist - that's what I saw!
The roads are narrow and windy - but it was so beautiful we just enjoyed the wildness and wetness - and the glimpse of the glacier between the rain storms.
Pete spent his 65 birthday driving a LONG way from Franz Josef to Nelson - I am so glad he retired at 60 and didn't wait till 65 - what a lot we would have missed.
 |
| A view towards the Southern Alps from the Canterbury plains - that was before the rain started. |
 |
| Over Arthur's Pass to the West Coast |
 |
| Wonderful braided rivers - the rain and mist is setting in |
 |
| Hokitika - a seaside resort - but not much beach for the holiday makers that day! |
 |
| The rivers are this amazing colour as they are full of glacial "flour" very fine rock particles which have been ground up by the movement of the glaciers. It is beautiful to see. |
 |
| The Franz Josef Glacier - it is impossible to describe how awesome it looks - like a frozen waterfall which has got stuck in the mountains. See the U shaped valley ground down by the glacier. |
 |
| Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki - amazing rock formations. |
No comments:
Post a Comment