New Zealand - January 17 - 25, 2015

January 17, 2015 - Traveled to Queenstown, NZ.  This is a beautiful town on a lake that looks like a resort town.  Lots of hills, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls.

On the road to Queenstown.

 

From our hotel room window.

 

The walking path to town.

 

100+ year old steamer coming into town.

 

At the harbor in town.

 

January 18, 2015 - Walked into town and boarded the steamer to a working farm and through the fiords.

 

 

Looking down into the working steam engine of the boat.

 

Around the boat.

 

On the cruise.

 

Look at the color of the water.

 

Docked at the farm.

 

Around the farm.

 

 

Sheep shearing demonstration.

 

January 19, 2015 - Travelled to the town of Twizel.  We are here to go to the Mount Cook National Park.  Rode out to Mt. Cook NP today, about an hour of driving.  As we get closer the weather takes a turn for the worse as clouds and fog move in.

 

 

This is a glacial lake that has this great color from the minerals from the glacier melt water.

 

At the visitor center of the park.  Not a good day.

 

Mt. Cook NP.  Since it was such a lousy day at the NP, we decided to go back today.  What a difference a day makes!

 

 

Mt Cook in the distance.

 

We walked up a path to the glacier. it was about 30 minutes of uphill. 

 

That is a glacier at the far end of the lake.  It looks very dark as it is full of rocks, boulders, stones and dirt.  The lake here is from the glacier melt, but it is still full of rock dust from the glacier.

 

To Wanaka, NZ

 

From our hotel patio.

 

 

In town.

 

January 22, 2015 - to Franz Josef Glacier, NZ

 

 

January 23, 2015 - Went to the Franz Josef Glacier.  It was a walking path about 2 miles each way.  A much whiter glacier.

 

 

 

The glacier from as close as we were allowed to go.

 

Stopped at a roadside lake for a picnic lunch.

 

January 24, 2015 - Travelled further north to Greymouth, NZ.  Stopped at a lookout where there is a rock formation called "pancake rocks". This type of formation is not found anywhere else in the world and no one knows why these rocks formed the way that they did.

 

On the road to the pancake rocks.

 

 

This is a kiwi bird.

 

Start of the pancake rocks area.

 

 

 January 25, 2015 - On the road to Arthur's pass.

 

 

Walking on the trail to Devil's Punchbowl at Arthur's Pass.

 

Waterfall at the Devil's Punchbowl.  Arrived after an extraordinary uphill climb that involved several hundred stairs and uphill climbs.

 

 

In the town of Arthur's Pass.  Yes, that is the whole town in the picture.