Gratuitous Tourist Shot #2

There was a strong, warm nor'wester blowing from the direction of Mt Cook.

Gratuitous Tourist Shot #1

On the way home we stopped for the obligatory photos at Lake Pukaki.

View From (Almost) The Top

John and I climed as high as we could, about 5m below the top. At that point the cliffs were vertical so we just took time to enjoy the view.

Amongst the Cliffs

James loves rocks, he scrambled all over the place.

Clay Cliffs

After lunch we visited the clay cliffs of Omarama. These strange rock formations are fun to explore.

Baa!

Total Gridlock

Lake Pukaki

Four seasons in one day... again! New Zealand weather is crazy. One minute we are driving across a glacier in the drizzle and an hour later we are driving past a lake in glorious sunshine.

Ice

There were lots of icebergs in the Tasman glacier lake.

Dead End

I ordered everyone out and drove down to a small clearing where I could turn around (10 point turn). Then I had to drive back up a 30 degree slope to get back on to the morraine wall. I was a bit nervous but the surface was very good and the truck had no problems.

End of the Road

It was a heart pounding drive. A couple of times we reached seemingly impassible sections but I managed to squeak around the boulders till we reached this point high up above the glacier. If you look closely, our truck is on the right hand side of the photo.

BTW, the glacier looks grey as it has retreated a lot in the past few decades and is now covered in a thin layer of rocks. To see the clean ice we would have had to walk about the same distance again as we had already driven. That will have to wait for another day.

Run John, Run

Today we went for a drive up the Tasman glacier. This is the longest glacier in New Zealand and we took the truck up the side of the morraine wall to see how far we could go. In the valley the sun was shining but on the glacier it was raining.

Halo Over Mt Cook

The sky was a strange grey colour and there was a full halo about the sun.

Mueller Lake

We went for a walk along the Hooker Valley. The weather was very unusual, it was hot with high cloud and the light was very dramatic.

Reunion

John, Tami and Annabell are visiting from the UK. They are doing a big tour of the South Island and this weekend we are joining them for a few days at Twizel.

Dark Side Of The Moon

We had a partial eclipse of the sun this evening. I took this snap by photographing the suns reflection in the windscreen of the car. I had to use two polarizing filters. The shape is elongated due to the curve of the windscreen.

Kite Surfing

It was a very windy day, on the way home we stopped to watch the kite-surfers. I have never seen so many.

A Piece of History

We had a great afternoon, Ferrymead is full of surprises, but this was my favourite, a DC-3 from the US Antarctic Program. These aircraft were built in the 40's and flew from Christchurch to Antarctica during the 50's and 60's. In 1956, one of these planes made the first ever landing at the south pole.

The ski-equipped version of the DC-3 was known as the LC-47H and only two are still in existence. This one is currently being restored, I think the government should help out as it is an important part of New Zealand, U.S. and Antarctic history.

Fire!

The 'Hall of Flame', contains a large collection of vintage fire engines. We had to drag James from the wheel of this one.

19th Century Public Transport

Ferrymead Heritage Park is a recreation of Christchurch as it was during the victorian era. The picture shows a double decker steam tram that was built in 1870 (in Leeds of all places)! There used to be a fleet of these in Christchurch but this is the only working one in the world.

Birdlings Flat

On the way home we stopped at Birdlings Flat. The beach stretches south as far as the eye can see. You can't swim because of dangerous rips but it is a great place to feel the wind and watch the waves crash on the beach.

Tumbledown Bay

Today we drove to Tumbledown Bay. This is a beautiful beach with crystal clear water. It is at the end of a long gravel road so even though it is less than an hours drive from Christchurch it gets very few visitors.