People say that the south island of new Zealand is prettier than the north and so far, we must agree. Right from the time the ferry enters Cook Strait, you are in for a panoramic surprise:
As we started our journey down on the west side, we visited the Marlborough Region, home to dozens of major wineries:
Although this area is renowned for their white wine, Cathy tried the Pinot Noir and said it was the best she's ever had (which is quite interesting as she said that again the next vineyard too).
We drove to Punakaiki, best known for its Pancake Rocks and Blowholes:
These lime rocks have been around for 35 million years and scientists still do not understand how the rocks formed into layers. Also, with the ocean waves crashing to shore, there are 'holes' in the rocks that create 'mist blowholes' and you hear a huge swooshing sound when the spray bursts out:
Another major difference from the north island is the mountain scenery versus the hills of northern New Zealand. We took a trek on Fox Glacier (I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I kept my hiking shoes) and the views are spectacular:
This part of New Zealand has the feeling of Whistler in B.C. Here though, the weather can change every 5 minutes from cloudless skies and brilliant sunshine to low lying clouds cutting off visibility of the mountain-tops. Here's a pic of Mount Cook at the start of our hike around Lake Matheson:
And here's a pic about an hour later:
In case you're wondering how much trekking we did today, it was around 16 km and I'm happier than a pig in shit being back in my room!
I'm surprised you haven't found a way to "not have enough room in your bag" and continue to travel with the hiking boots :-)
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