NZ road trip so far

3 days in and the going is gggrr-eat! Me and the camper van are getting on famously. It's fairly basic in the back but I have a lamp and a heater, so when I plug it in at camp sites I can make the place feel homely! The whole back section of the van turns into a queen-size bed at night and I have duvets, covers & pillows for 3 people, so it's very comfy. Quite the passion wagon! But enough about the van, sorry I'm quite excited by it.

New Zealand is beautiful! The 1st leg of my journey was due West from Christchurch over the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass. I was surprised how quickly you get to the mountains once you leave Christchurch. They are covered in snow and looked beautiful in the sunshine. I took loads of photos (some I even stopped driving to take!). That night I stayed in Greymouth, the highlight of which was the Highway 6 south out of there the next morning!

Christchurch - Greymouth

Next day I went to the glaciers - Franz Joseph & Fox. Via a cool reflecting lake - Ianthe Lake - and the wooded and lush Wantaroa scenic area. It is really fun driving through windy mountain roads and roads cut through lush rainforest. I stopped at Franz Joseph hoping to heli-hike on the glacier, but rain stopped play, so I drove another 20 kms to Fox.

On the way into Fox Glacier village I turned off to see Lake Matheson, which is a hidden gem. I thought Ianthe was beautifully reflective, but this lake was a picture postcard view in ever direction! It's one of the most photographed lakes in NZ because the reflected backdrop is Mt Cook (Australasia's highest peak) and Mt Tasman. I took enough photos to fill an album! Plus the 60 minute walk around the lake was through rain forest and was cool in its own right. It's weird having rain forest in NZ when it's so cold and the mountains are right next door. It's definitely wet enough for it - Fox Glacier gets 200 rain days a year (probably not impressive for those in England reading this under the threat of flood!).

Greymouth - Fox Glacier village

Today I spent the day hiking the Fox Glacier. My group of 10 consisted of 6 Germans, so it was a riot as you'd imagine! However it was amazing scenery as you'd expect. Photos don't do justice to the blue & green colours in the ice. Fox Glacier is 13 kms long and is one of the few glaciers in the world actually growing - slowly. It was a tough day in the crampons, we were on the ice for over 4 hours, and the walk from the car park to the ice took about 90 minutes on the way up a rain forest track including 500 steps and 60 mins on the way down. Tired legs, but a great day - I'm happy here in NZ. Australia has it's beauty spots, but I love the grand scenery of NZ more. I think I'm more a mountainous peaks man than a bush guy...

Fox Glacier hiking