The hostel we stayed in was called the Fish Tank and decorated as such. Quirky or what? Went on a boat trip to watch the whales - what an experience, never seen one let alone been that close! The seals were lovely, spent quite a while just watching them play. Kaikoura is a magic place at the foot of the mountains definitely worth the visit.
Then over to Arthur's Pass where it started to get cloudy. Stayed here for 1 night and did the walk up to the ski station. 2 hours steady up but this was the view from the top. Hostel here was a shared cottage - just the 6 of us.
Then to Franz Josef and Fox glaciers on the West Coast. These are truly amazing! Great rivers of ice flowing down the mountainside. The picture doesn't do it justice.
Back over Haast Pass to Wanaka. Lovely drive up through the mountains, lots of waterfalls and flowers. Picture taken at the pass itself looking back. Down the mountains to Wanaka which is another truly amazing place. A huge blue lake surrounded by mountains. The first day we hired kayaks and paddled over the lake. This was great until the last half hour when the wind got up whipping up white horses and we were paddling back into it. We got soaked and quite cold.
Climbed Roy's Peak for great views on the second day. This was 3 hours up - quite hard but I think worth it for the views from the top as you can see. Staying in a hostel set up for the winter skiing, hardly anyone here, cheap and amazing value.
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