New Zealand-Glaciers

After stopping at a free camping site...which was hilarious since we got there after dark and there were no signs of life...we headed towards Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.  We stopped at Fox Glacier first and got our first peek from a ways away.  After checking out the visibility and reading up on the reviews, we decided to spend more of our time and effort hiking towards the Franz Josef Glacier.

The two glaciers aren't too far from one another, so after another 45 minutes or so of driving, we made it to the Franz Josef Glacier.  We were really hoping for some sun, since they only allow you to hike within about a football field of the glacier.  You could also take a helicopter ride on the glacier, but that was a bit out of the budget.

The clouds were prevalent, but we hiked on, excited to see the glacier up "close" After about an hour, we reached the farthest point...just when the sun peeked out...so cool!!  The color of this glacier was gorgeous, and we had a great time checking it out, and getting lots of pictures:) I'm sure the people waiting for the prime positioning we had were slightly annoyed, but we wanted to soak it all in...and getting nine of us to smile at the camera at the same time posed a challenge:) Andy also used this time to make a reservation for our next holiday park.  We needed to make sure we were able to have accommodations, since it was our last night before returning the the camper vans. Somehow, Andy was able to get reception at the glacier?

Minor miracle...everyone smiling at the camera

Traveling BFF's

Andy booking our last holiday park for that night

We took our time hiking back to the vans, stopping at some picturesque views along the way.  We were so grateful for the sun coming out and not only bringing the blue sky, but also the warmth.  It shouldn't have been odd to us that we were bundled up for cold in December...except that it was New Zealand's summertime...not sure any of us were mentally prepared.

Picturesque

Twinkle toes needed some extra encouragement to make it back

That day we had several hours of driving left before we got to the park.  We wanted to get to Arthur's Pass so that the following day would be a bit easier. We were able to get to our Holiday Park, labeled the best in NZ, before dark.  We showered, did some laundry, and had yummy tacos for dinner in the lounge/kitchen.  The park also had glow worms, so once we were cleaned up, Andy took the kids while I got the beds ready for when they got back.  We had seen a great display of glow worms the year before in Australia, so these were a little disappointing, but overall, a fun experience. The kids got a bit messy, but at that point, we just put them to bed and got to bed ourselves.  We had a long day coming and needed to get up early.  We were heading back to Christchurch, dropping of the campers, picking up the 15 passenger van, and making it several hours to Blenheim.

Lots of cards were played

Kitchen...and pull our "master bedroom"

Our last night in the campers

Reminder that I actually drove this for five days

New Zealand-Milford Sounds

Milford Sounds is such a unique part of New Zealand that we didn't want to miss it.  It was also a great opportunity to have a day off of driving since there are so many bus tours from Queenstown.  Unfortunately, they don't always communicate well:(

We had to be at our stop by 7:15am to catch our bus.  This, of course, is not an easy task, but we were successful...even early.  But as the time passed, and it got later and later, we started to get a bit concerned. Sure enough, when Ron finally got someone on the line to ask where the bus was, they told him that we were at the wrong bus stop and that we already missed our bus. But, if we hurried, and we got to that bus stop, another bus company agreed to take us on and get us to the correct bus at the midpoint where they all stop.  So we hustled over to that stop (a few blocks away!!) and made it onto the other bus...which was God's grace since not many buses would have nine extra seats!!

Milford Sounds is one of the wettest inhabited places on earth, raining an average of 182 days a year.  This stat made me feel better, since sure enough, it was raining...the first rain we had had during the day on our trip. But, you actually want rain since Milford Sound is known for its waterfalls...and we saw more than I could count. The bus trip to the fiord took about two hours, including a couple stops along the way. It was such a great way to enjoy seeing more of New Zealand...and a bit more restful than driving a camper van:) It was even pointed out to us when we drove below the 45th parallel...a feat that is difficult to do, unless you are going to Antarctica.  Then we arrived and after a short wait, boarded a boat for the ride around Milford Sounds.  We enjoyed our time on the boat, getting comfortable seats in a prime location that allowed us to go out on the deck if we wanted a better view.  The water falls were spectacular, as the driver got us as close to, or sometimes under, them as he could.  We even got to see some seals resting on some rocks.

Rebecca and Abby trying to stay dry

On the bus back to Queenstown...we saw the sun again

More sheep

All in all, it hit the mark of seeing a side of New Zealand that is unique and different.  Even though we were a bit wet, it was a restful trip. especially for the drivers, and we were able to get a little sleep on the bus before getting back to Queenstown.  After eating some pizzas in the camper van, we started the trek north, on our way to Franz Josef Glacier and Arthur's Pass.

On the road again...

New Zealand-Queenstown

As we moved on to Queenstown, we continued to enjoy the gorgeous scenery, wide open space, and lots of sheep!  Of course, we also saw cattle and deer, too. We traveled through the "fruit capital' of New Zealand, and also past the birthplace of bungy jumping. As we were driving into Queenstown, we were in awe of the lake and the mountains that seemed to outline this little town.  We navigated our camper vans to our holiday park, which was conveniently located within walking distance to the center of town.

We made it just before sundown, had dinner, and we all took showers at the park's nice facilities.  We were all exhausted from a long day of driving (that seemed to take longer than expected) but were so excited to finally be in Queenstown. It was also nice that we were going to be there two nights and two days, and there wouldn't be any driving for awhile.

Our Holiday Park in Queenstown

Josh met a friend...a boy named Josh from Brisbane

Loved our picnic table dinners

The next morning was laid back as we took our time to get up and moving.  Ron and Rebecca went out to explore and our family finally got moving late morning.  We walked to town, checked out a few souvinir shops, and found a delicious burger restaurant that served great fries, too.  It even had room for all of us, which we always appreciate. After enjoying our lunch, we walked back to the camper vans, changed our clothes (it was getting warmer) and met up with Ron and Rebecca, who enjoyed their own burgers:) Then we walked back to town and rented bikes. Queenstown has some great bike trails, and we enjoyed riding by the water seeing this fun town from a different angle.

Biking amidst the beauty of Queenstown

After the bike ride, some of us went back to the souvenir shops to make some more decisions, why the rest of us went back to the campervans to get dinner ready. We had bought some fresh salmon on the way, so that, with some spread and crackers, was on the menu. Delish!! Finally, Ron and I wanted to go up to the top of the cable car to get the view of Queenstown from the top, so we headed up while Rebecca and Andy did cleanup and bedtime....very gracious of them. We were not disappointed by the view, and even saw some fireworks as we walked back to the holiday park.  It had been a great day in Queenstown...but we had to get some good sleep because the next day we were headed to Milford Sounds!

A beautiful view of the mountains and the water of Queenstown

The night lights came on

Crazy-cool sky

Some fireworks...

and some goats as we were leaving