Departing Nelson (A), we travelled 426 miles down the West Coast, spending 2 nights in Franz Josef Glacier (E), before finally crossing the Southern Alps via Haast Pass (F).
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| First view of the West Coast south of Westport |
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| Pancake Rocks (B) |
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| Pancake Rocks is an unusual geological phenomenon that geologists cannot explain |
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We were all excited to get out of the car and stretch our legs
We even ate pancakes at the restaurant by Pancake rocks! |
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| Now here's a road sign we've never seen in South Dakota! |
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| The rocks at "Twelve Mile Beach" |
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| Greymouth ( C ) |
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Cris nearly accepted a position at this clinic in Greymouth…
I think he made the right decision |
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| South of Greymouth, we crossed this one-lane bridge shared by cars & trains! |
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| Hokitika (D) |
I wanted to stop and see
Hokitika as it is the setting for the
2013 Man Booker Prize winning novel
The Luminaries which I read when we first arrived in New Zealand. It was great to see some of the sites of the book in real life. The area is also well known for it's pounamu (jade) and we stopped in a few studios to see it being carved and sold.
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| The Hokitika River |
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| Approaching the rain forests of the 'Misty Mountains' |
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| View of Franz Josef Glacier (E) |
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| New Year's Eve 2013! |
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| Ben just had to see this Kiwi sanctuary & Glacier exhibit |
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| Annual rainfall in Franz Josef shown on the left! |
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| The boys saw 3 rescued Rowi Kiwi, but photos were not permitted in the habitat |
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| The Haast River at Haast Pass (F) |
This stretch of Haast Pass has recently experienced a massive slide. It is closed every night and can close unexpectedly if there is heavy rain. They keep equipment on site (this is a very remote location) to move large boulders that land on the road. It was a stressful crossing of Haast Pass… And one we were glad to have behind us!
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