After 2 nights in Queenstown we headed north and west (or northwest if you prefer). Firstly we climbed a steep switchback road and avoided cyclists doing the same thing as we crossed the Crown Range north of Queenstown on the way to Wanaka. This was a pleasant enough place but there wasn't much to see or do and there were plenty of camera-wielding Japanese tourists so we carried on. The road was gradually climbing and we came across a busy car park by a DoC sign so stopped to have a look. It was a delightful walk through lush green forest to the 'Blue Pools', helpfully an information board told us they were named for their colour. We crossed two wood and steel suspension bridges to get there and found a deep, blue river with 5 large trout swimming about.

Back in the car the road continued to climb through the Haast Pass but the descent was rather more dramatic. The road became very steep and the forested mountains on all sides became enveloped in thick cloud and rain. At the bottom of one particularly steep bit we crossed a bridge over the 'Gates of Haast' (try saying it in an epic, deep voice, it sounds better). Once we reached the coast, the weather cleared and we stopped for cake by the beach. The sand was grey and there was lots of drift wood (it turns out this is standard west coast of South Island coastal scenery as it has been repeated at all subsequent beaches that we've visited), it was nice to see the sea again. We drove on, stopping at a couple of coast viewpoints which were Japanese tourist hot spots, and eventually camped slightly north of Franz Joseph Glacier where we met two friendly Germans.

The following day we drove back south to Fox Glacier along the very twisty road. Initially we drove to a lookout but this didn't offer very good views. Instead we parked up on the other side of the valley and took a 2km walk to look at it level with the terminal face. It was much cleaner - whiter and bluer - than the Tasman Glacier that we saw near Mt Cook. It also had people on it so we had a better sense of the immense scale of it. It was very impressive.
After a rather good lunch in a cafe in Franz Joseph village we decided not to walk to see the glacier. Anna wasn't feeling great, the cloud had come down, it was raining heavily and it was a longer walk than at Fox so we decided to carry on north.

On the recommendation of Sat Nav Sam (see blog about Coral Bay, WA) we stopped in Okarito. It was a quiet little town with a large coast lagoon. Anna was still not feeling well so she had a nap while I had a wander around. I crossed the lagoon, which had fish in, into a forest where I found some small blue mushrooms, which I thought seemed unusual. I carried on to the beach, grey sand and lots of driftwood, but then got very wet as a squall blew through. Back in the van with a slightly revived Anna we carried on north and camped a short distance south of Hokitika.

We packed up and drove to the sea front in Hokitika to eat breakfast. The view was fine but the general area was a little rundown and the beach unremarkable, grey sand and lots of driftwood. We looked around the shops which were mainly selling tacky touristy jewellery but did find a very nice photo gallery where some postcards were purchased. Feeling a bit under whelmed, as this was meant to be a 'highlight' of the North West coast we reassessed our plan for the day. Neither Westport or Greymouth sounded very good (anywhere that sells itself as a good base to go elsewhere is not good, Peterborough is a good example in England -come to Peterborough, its near London!) and Anna was keen to visit Hanmer Springs for a long bath, which was back on the east side of the island.

We decided to take Arthur's Pass as we'd been assured that here were Kea's up there. A kea is an alpine parrot, they are only found in NZ and there are only 5000 alive, and we'd not seen any at Mt Cook (the place) which had been disappointing. As with most passes the lower parts were rather uneventful but towards the top it became spectacular. The road went up a long 1:6 slope and had a roof to prevent rock falls, further on there was a stream that was bridged over the road before falling as a waterfall and finally there was a majestic viaduct across a huge scree slope on the side of the valley. At the top of this we stopped at a viewpoint and there were 5 Keas. We were happy and one posed for the camera, which was obliging. On the descent we stopped at Arthur's Pass (a small village just below the summit) and walked up lots of steps to a see a very high waterfall. We saw a very high waterfall and then walked down lots of steps back to the car. We also stopped at Castle Hill. This is an area with lots of limestone boulders and crags (which look a bit like a castle on a hill) and was quite beautiful in the afternoon sun. We had a walk around them, commenting on how featureless they looked and how hard to climb they'd be and watched a dreadlocked man fail to 'send it home' (get to the top) on one boulder.

After another hours drive we reached our campsite at Mt Thomas and were surprised to find a hedgehog snuffling around as we ate tea. My book says that they were introduced and are a major pest as they eat lots of bird's eggs, Anna suggested that we take it back with us.

And so endeth our adventures on the west coast of south island of NZ. Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura to follow next...

Josh x