Day 11 Richmond to Fox Glacier (3/13/13-neat!)

Got up from our noisy roadside last minute motel in Richmond (that actually was very clean and just fine) and began the long drive south along the western coast. The first few hours wound through mountainous jungly scenery and then we hit the fantastic coast. Unbelievably beautiful... The sun was shining (again, they are having unseasonably dry weather), the water an aqua blue and the rocks and cliffs were awesome.

We stopped at Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks) to see incredible layered limestone formations creating towers, caves and canyons where the sea rushes in, usually with pounding force. Today, even with high tide, the sea was calm, so no exploding blow holes. Dolphins playing and birds hanging out...

On to Greymouth for a tavern lunch and a stop at Monteith's Brewery. Further down the coast we stopped at Hokitika, known for its Maori jade. We had a peek at the "Nature Preserve", but one lonely Kiwi that may not be visible made us continue on down the road.

Each bend in the road reveals a different landscape, from jungle to scrub oak to pastureland. Suddenly you will think you are driving at sea level, then you will descend like you've been in the mountains. One lane bridges are everywhere over rivers by the score. Each tiny town has hiking, fishing, rafting, bird sanctuaries, kayaking... You could stay in each spot for a week. But we be movin...

We discovered a bird species at Farewell Spit that migrates from Alaska to New Zealand in the longest known non stop migration of 8 days and nights: the Godwit. So we have begun calling ourselves the Godwits. We are spending some long days driving, but we are filling it with good conversation, laughs, and yelling at Craig for driving badly, even when Jim is at the wheel!

We made it to the land of the glaciers. The first is Franz Josef. We stopped in town to check out the hiking/helicopter tours and have some dinner. On to Fox Glacier, where we will spend two nights, doing glacier things.