Glacier 2

Today we left Franz Joseph and moved on to Greymouth, well Gladstone really, just a bit south.
We woke this morning to the sound of helicopters passing overhead, and we did not comprehend what it obviously meant, until I went to pack the car 90 minutes later.
The mountain was clear of cloud and they looked magnificent – so we headed out to the lookout point for the glacier and out came the camera. The opportunity was too good to miss so I set up the tripod to ensure sharpness. It was so special to see the sight.

We got on the road and north of Whataroa there was some major road works, and the construction was at the stage when the final surface was being refined before seal. It was wet and each side took turns at being lead through the site.
It wasn’t until we had a toilet stop at Ross that we saw that the car was covered in in white mud 4 sides up half of the car height. We decided that we needed a car wash.

Onwards to Hokitika and as we drove into town there was the car wash! We parked up and went looking for lunch – Robyn had read about a sandwich bar, so we headed there. It was a very busy place – all the sandwiches made fresh – the bread was like a ciabatta – Trevor had corned beef with sauerkraut and salad – Robyn had smoked fish, cream cheese, capers and salad.
Back in the car down to the garage for petrol and the wash – looking primo now. Onwards to Greymouth – we decided to pick up groceries at New World for the next few days. And turned around and headed back to Gladstone and our house for the next two nights. It’s called “The Loft”. Met the owner at the gate and he showed us around. He is probably a bit of a handy man – has a great vege garden. It’s a cute place on the first floor – quite large room compared to our wee room at Franz Joseph.

Tomorrow not sure what we will do – might explore the Hokitika Gorge.
I’ve had a chance to catch up on photos so will add some from previous days.Read more