James and I left for Otematata a day before Kiwi, Catherine, Chekko and Becky and drove via Mount Cook. We went the scenic route, although everywhere in NZ is scenic but Monique ruled the road as there wasn't much on the road. We had a glimpse of Mount Cook with the Wipers and didn't think much could beat the view from further away. As we got closer we got a great view of the glacier and went for a short walk. We stopped at the alpine memorial, it was a beautiful spot and I think the climbers would be pleased with their spot on the mountains. We drove down the Tasman Road and walked to see the Tasman Glacier. It was pretty scary to see how far the glacier had retreated in 100 years, if it keeps moving at this rate there won't be a glacier in another 100 years. We drove to Kiwi's Dad lake house and slept in a house for the night, what a treat! The next day we went to see the Benmore Dam and had a short drive around the lake before an intense Wimbledon style tennis match in the park. The girls and Kiwi didn't arrive until 11 in the evening and after a catch up we went to bed preparing ourselves for some hard core lake action.