. I noticed an American flag out front at night, which I tried to remember if it was there when I checked in during the day. I passed out in my room, but not before setting the alarm to catch the sun rise over the adjacent beach. I woke up an hour after the scheduled sun rise, frantically ran out to the beach, but saw that it was too cloudy on the horizon. Back at the B&B, I met up with Gail and her husband Murray, two perfect examples of the finest in New Zealand hospitality. They told me they hoist up flags for guests to help them find their way home, which was a nice personal touch. I wanted to spend more time with them, but I really needed to grab breakfast and head out to glacier country, which would be at least a 5 hour drive through the mountains.
Christchurch really is a cute town. Very cozy. Hard to believe it's one of the 4 "big" cities of New Zealand. Everything about New Zealand just has a small town feel about it, and it makes driving across it much easier when you're flying solo. I took the 73 highway that cuts through the heart of the South Island, up the mountains and past a plethora of ski resorts along the way. It's February, where is all the snow?!? The mountains are quite impressive, with unusual rock formations, turquoise blue rivers, and not much in between. I stopped at a small town in
Arthur's Pass for lunch, and as usual, I got a bottle of ginger beer, which is so popular in these parts.
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| Rock formations near Arthur's Pass |
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| Brilliantly blue river |
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| The Tasman Sea |
I made it up to the coast, and then headed south. The drive along the coast was beautiful, and I wish the road didn't cut inland so soon. If I had more time, I would've loved a chance to splash around in the huge rolling waves, though I suspect that the water temperature was not too inviting. I managed to get to
Franz Josef Glacier around 5:30pm, and thanks to the long days, there was plenty of sun left. I spied my first glacier ever from afar, taking a short hike to get some good views of the base, but from a distance. I decided I would spend more time at the next glacier: Fox Glacier.
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| Franz Josef in the distance |
After some shopping around, I settled on
Ropatini's B&B, due to the location, room, and free wifi. I caught proprietor Trish just as she was running errands, but she quickly showed me the room, gave me a key, and then said she'd handle the rest after she got back. She didn't even ask for my name! Again, I'm amazed at how hospitable some people can be in New Zealand. I say "some people" because it was here that I found out that my credit card number had been lifted at some point. I suspect it was that Pinelands Motel in Rotorua, but I'll probably never know for sure.
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| Lake Matheson, just as it starts to rain |
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| Bridge between Lake and Cafe of Matheson |
I booked a helicopter tour of
Fox Glacier for the next day. Surprisingly, the sun was still up and shining around 8pm, so I took a hike around Lake Matheson before settling in at the Matheson Cafe for dinner. After dinner, I called
Capital One, and requested a new credit card to be sent out.... but to where? They won't send it internationally, so they sent it to my brother, but then where would he forward it to? Our only semi-permanent location was Singapore, but we wouldn't be there for another month. We were changing hotels in Melbourne, and spending a week in Sydney, and without any idea how long mail from US to OZ takes, it was pretty much like flipping a coin. I decided to send it to my cousin in Sydney, and if we leave before it arrives, hopefully, it wouldn't take very long to forward it on to Melbourne or Singapore from there.
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