Day 9 in New Zealand - Drive Through Arthur's Pass

The day after Franz Josef Glacier we drove through Arthur's Pass to Queenstown. We stopped along the way to enjoy the sights and take some pictures.

Lots of empty beaches in New Zealand. Part of that is that there aren't many people and the other part is that the water is pretty cold.

Notice the mist or spray from the surf.

I think these are antelope. I assume the horns have been removed to keep them from hurting each other.

This is in Arthur's Pass. These mountains are known as the Southern Alps. The first Europeans passed through here in 1864.

Notice the structure carrying the waterfall over the highway and the half tunnel to send rock slides over the highway.

This is the Otira Viaduct. It was completed in 1999.

The pass is at an elevation of just over 3000 feet.

I don't know the name of these plants with the red flowers but they are all over the mountains.

There were a number of the Keas hanging out at the scenic stops.

These Lupine are all over New Zealand. They are actually an invasive species. The sheep seem to keep them down in the fields but they are all over the shoulders of the highways.

There is apparently a program to eradicate them but that seems optimistic or perhaps unrealistic.

Lots of wide open spaces.

These rock formations are interesting. This area is known as Castle Hill.

It is popular for rock climbing. It even has a Wikipedia entry.  Castle Hill

The station (sheep farm) here is very isolated but it is a pretty setting.

Here is a Google Maps link to the location. Scroll put to see the location relative to the mountains.  Castle Hill

Have I mentioned that there are a lot of sheep in New Zealand?

Day 8 in New Zealand - Franz Josef Glacier

On day 8 we drove from Wanaka to Franz Josef glacier. This is the sunrise at Wanaka

Margot spotted this rainbow and took this picture out the car window.

There are sheep everywhere in New Zealand.

They get a lot of rain and there are streams running down out of the mountains everywhere.

Franz Josef averages over 5 meters of rain each year. That is about 200 inches. The results in a temperate rain forest. Lots of ferns and moss.

Yet just 30 or 40 miles away you find a very dry environment.

The sea coast here is pretty wild. There were only a few beaches and bays were settlers could communicate with those outside. The first road was not completed until 1965. Even today the population in this part of New Zealand is pretty low.

There is a section of the road that comes down to the beach. The beach is covered with smooth white rocks.

Margot, the rock hound, picks up a couple of them.

Somehow it became popular for visitors to write messages or their name on rocks and leave them on the beach. I have no idea what the recycle rate is but given the environment I imagine they don't last more than a year or so.

When in Rome ....

We didn't have a felt marker. I don't imagine that our contribution lasted more than a week.

Cattle has been an important part of the economy since European settlers arrived in the area.

I think I have mentioned the one lane bridges before. There are a lot of them.

Franz Josef is a very small town that serves the needs of tourists visiting the glacier. You can take guided hikes, go on your own, take all sorts of helicopter or airplane flights.

This is the Kiwi center. It was established to support a specific species of Kiwi native to the area that is very threatened.

This is a view up the valley toward the glacier. It is about one mile from here to the glacier. You can see all the people walking up the valley.

This is the end of the glacier. If you click on the picture you can see the blocks of ice that have fallen off the glacier. Notice all the rock and gravel in the ice.

Here is another shot after the clouds lifted a bit. If you click on the picture you can see a red dot above the man's right shoulder. That is a person up near the face of the glacier. That gives you a bit of a sense of scale.

Margot wanted to bring this rock home, too, but I convinced her it wouldn't fit in her suitcase. She was having some trouble picking it up, anyway.

This is a waterfall along the side of the valley.

Lots of moss on the rocks.

Day 7 in New Zealand - Drive to Wanaka

After our visit to Milford Sound we drove to Wanaka. We passed by this old steam train that takes tourists for a trip along the lake. We didn't take the tour but did stop to take some pictures.

Technorati claim token MYZ7H4GU6X6H

Here is a look at the cab of the engine and the associated controls.

The train is known as the Kingston Flyer. It provided passanger service in the area from the 1890's to the 1950's.

This is where the work is. Somebody has to shovel that coal into the firebox.

Margot took this picture of these roses when we stopped for a snack along the way.

The drive runs along the shore of Lake Wakatipu. Lots of twists and turns but a very pretty drive.

Not sure what to call this. Grass maybe? The sunshine on it caught my eye.

I was surprised at the number of deer farms in New Zealand. Venison is very popular.

Here Margot is taking a video of the valley below. We chose the scenic route up and over the Crown Range.

If you click on the picture and look at the end of the lake on the left-center of the picture you can see the Queenstown airport runway.

Here is a close up of one of the farms nestled up against the mountains.

Here a plane flies down the valley toward the airport. It will make a left turn to line up with the runway.

This is one flight where you want a window seat.

This is the lake at Wanaka. I thought the clouds were nice.

Here is another interesting cloud.

There are sheep all over.

I'm not sure what sort of bird this is. I'm guessing a loon of some sort.

This woman was having a lot of fun feeding the birds. I've learned enough Chinese to recognize that she was shouting lai, lai or come, come as she threw the bread in the air.

I don't know what was going on here. I'd say there was some beer involved but hopefully they weren't drinking and driving.

I'm just glad this guy didn't turn around.