Today is Glacier day! Our goal was to see both Franz-Joseph and Fox Glaciers. It’s cloudy today, but not raining—so we’re happy. We get a good start, driving through many cute, small towns along the way. Ross, a historic mining town would have been fun to poke around had we had more time, but we were determined not to get side-tracked.
Stopped at a tourist spot and found the cool remains of an old bridge that reminded me of a Star Wars movie.
We reached Franz-Joseph first and while we were tempted to pay $$$ for a guided tour or helicopter ride, we opted to hike out as far as we could to the Glacier ourselves. It was a great hike among rocks, waterfalls and a lot of weathered stones. 
You can see below a photo of a "Wicked Camper Van" who likes to quote sayings on the side--this one Mark liked about Chuck Norris.
Fox Glacier was closer, but recent hiker deaths closed off the trail to the base of the glacier. Regardless it was a beautiful day. We also took a drive out to Lake Matheson, where supposedly the glaciers are reflected in the lake’s surface, but weather conditions were not in our favor, so we had to settle for a beautiful lake hike, and bouncing along on their swing bridge.
Other views of note today: stacked rocks at Bruce Bay, incredible views of the coast at Knights Point, and the beautiful sand beaches on our drive into Haast.
We stopped for the night in Okuru, just past Haast Beach. It’s a nice camper sight, but tonight we were pretty tired, and mostly enjoyed the email, laundry and kitchen facilities. Mark is reading his new book, and I’m updating our blog!
Sadly, we have to end our trip south. We hoped to make it to Milford Sound or Dunedin, but time just isn’t in our favor—so our goal for tomorrow is to make it as close to Cristchurch as possible. It’s a long drive, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited to pass by some more Lord of the Rings film sights, and we’re driving for quite awhile along Lake Hawea. Should be beautiful.
Other views of note today: stacked rocks at Bruce Bay, incredible views of the coast at Knights Point, and the beautiful sand beaches on our drive into Haast.
We stopped for the night in Okuru, just past Haast Beach. It’s a nice camper sight, but tonight we were pretty tired, and mostly enjoyed the email, laundry and kitchen facilities. Mark is reading his new book, and I’m updating our blog!
Sadly, we have to end our trip south. We hoped to make it to Milford Sound or Dunedin, but time just isn’t in our favor—so our goal for tomorrow is to make it as close to Cristchurch as possible. It’s a long drive, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited to pass by some more Lord of the Rings film sights, and we’re driving for quite awhile along Lake Hawea. Should be beautiful.
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