After leaving Marlborough, we watched the scenery change again as we followed the Wairau River up into the mountains.
We were so happy that someone told us to take a few minutes and stop at Lake Rotoiti because it was lovely.
No thanks, I don't think we'll swim here, though. Apparently these longfin eels are endemic to New Zealand and we saw them several places but not in huge numbers like this. These guys were enjoying the shade under the dock until food fell for the ducks.
These scaup ducks were our favorite little residents because they're adorable and agile divers.
Can't ever pass up the chance to feed the ducks! We still had food pellets leftover from the farm and the ducks loved it.
We headed higher through the pass and stopped several times to enjoy the scenery.
The roads in New Zealand are amazing considering how remote and difficult many of them must be to maintain, but there are still some one-lane areas on the sides of cliffs that could maybe be a little bigger!
Finally, we reached the west coast on a perfect late afternoon!
We stopped first to check out the pancake rocks walk.
These really do look like huge stacks of pancakes and no one is quite sure how they were formed or weathered into this formation.
The flax plants were impressive and many of the flower stalks were over 10ft high!
We checked out the blow hole as well but beautiful weather also meant flat seas and no action there.
We checked into Punakaiki Beach Camp for the night and had our first campervan dinner.
The beach was just behind our site and we had to check it out while the steaks were cooking.
Delicious!! Nothing beats hot steak out in the fresh air. (but notice we're still in flip flops. I later regretted that decision A LOT because we were introduced to the dreaded sandflies. I made the mistake of thinking the bites weren't bad compared to giant Texas mosquitoes and didn't even see many so I thought they were overrated as a nuisance)
We met several little friends who were also quite interested in our dinner but only fed this one sweet one.
Then we were back at the beach to enjoy a fantastic sunset. Any beach sunset is absolutely my happy place.
Photo credit: Alex! I loved this when I saw it later on my phone.
Another great day in New Zealand!
The next morning we were up and off early for a 2-hour drive to a hunting lodge so Matt could try his hand at pheasant hunting. While he was out, the kids and I jumped at the chance to take our own hike along a clear river and explore around in a snake-free country.
We came to some creek crossings, large and small, and did a good job of staying dry for a while.
The forest was lovely, even in some drizzly rain.
By the time we were headed back, we were all completely soaked from the knees down but it was so worth it!
Photo credit: Ben! His picture of paradise, and I have to agree. We hiked for 2 hours and probably about 4 miles without hearing or seeing another soul in some of the most beautiful scenery. Perfect!
I was a fan of the little waterfalls running into the river.
We all ended up back at the lodge for lunch and were happy to see that Matt was successful. We also had some meat to grill up a few days later!
Then it was back on the road to head several more hours down the coast.
This was the rainiest day, but this weather is completely typical for the west coast so we were prepared for it.
We settled into the Rainforest Retreat for two nights and were so thankful to have laundry facilities to wash and dry all of our soaked tennis shoes!
We ran to the campground restaurant in between downpours and had a nice warm dinner.
Our camper was pretty terrific and comfortable for 4 people. Matt and I slept in the back, but it was big enough for all of us to stretch out and watch some Netflix together in the evenings.
The kids slept over the cab and thankfully they were too worn out every night to fight for space or covers.
We stayed here on our first NZ trip and I still love this campground. They did an amazing job of keeping the rainforest feel for a pretty big campground.
The next morning, it was finally time for one of the kids' most anticipated outings...Quad biking! Or, as we call it, 4-wheeling!
They were a bit bummed that they were too young to drive, but we all loved every minute!
First, we went through a narrow and muddy track in the forest. We were completely suited up in weather gear and boots so going through deep pools was tons of fun.
We drove out to the Waiho river and the clouds started clearing in front of Franz Josef glacier, giving us amazing views down below.
We got to do some pretty fun river crossings as well. I'm glad I had some experience on 4-wheelers because otherwise I might have been a little nervous! All the other drivers were men and I was definitely the slowest one. Ben jumped off halfway through to ride with Matt...ha!
Back through the forest and the mud, making some big splashes! It was a great morning and the best part was that we didn't have to wash the mud off the 4-wheelers.
That afternoon, we tried our hands at a little clay target shooting and the kids did great.
Ben even hit a few of the quick "rabbits" along the ground!
We finished off our exciting day with some warm drinks and sweet treats at a cafe.
We also started a pretty mean game of hearts. The kids have played enough now that they have a decent chance of slaughtering us!
A delicious flat white on a cool, drizzly day is just what a girl needs.
We had dinner just around the corner at Alice May and then went to bed hoping that the clearing weather would mean good things for some hiking the next day.
On Thursday, the skies were clearing for sure and we were happy to get the chance to see the glacier up close.
We left town and parked at the Franz Josef Glacier trail and started enjoying the scenery immediately.
Lovely waterfalls dotted the trail the entire way.
We didn't see this glacier last time we were in NZ, but signs marked how far the glacier used to extend in different years and it's clearly shrinking quickly. I think we were fortunate to see it before it's gone completely! This was the base of the glacier just 60 years ago.
Up as close as we could get
Pretty impressive up close!
Looking back toward the valley the glacier carved out over hundreds of years.
The boys took every chance to climb a rock or a tree!
The rest of our day took us south along the west coast on a really incredible sunny day. This side of the island gets enormous amounts of rain and sunny days are treasured. We never saw any of this on our first trip because it poured the entire time we were on the coast.
We stopped at the Ship Creek rest area to stretch our legs and see the beach, made up entirely of smooth stones.
Remember those sandflies? Turns out I got quite a few bites and I reacted very strongly. The itching was almost uncontrollable and my swollen feet hated shoes. I had some miserable times thanks to those little bugs. Thankfully, no one else got as many or reacted anywhere near as strongly.
We left the coastal plains...
...and headed back into the mountains.
The backseat riders were so happy!
We stopped to admire Roaring Billy falls and let me soak my sad feet in the cold water...ahhh...
Next, we hiked to the blue pools.
Not sure how they got their name exactly, but they looked very green to me. Pretty, but green.
The water was clear all the way to the bottom.
Naturally, seeing the water isn't enough...the boys needed to touch it and throw stuff into it.
They had a great time skipping rocks across. I love having boys...they're never unhappy when there are rocks around.
Towards late afternoon, we finally made it across the pass and reached Lake Wanaka. We really enjoyed the west coast, especially with the lovely weather, but we were looking forward to spending the rest of our trip exploring around Otago.
