It had been a very wet night with the rain constantly drumming down on the roof. It was ferocious at times and we didn't sleep all that well. The paper towels we had used to plug the leak were absolutely sodden but luckily we were dry. We found a lantern under door number 8 of our advent calendar. After brekky we chilled for a while and then wandered over to the Glacier Hot Pools which were nestled in rainforest just across the road from the camp site. The cloud was low and misty but the rain was now just a light spit and when we got to the pools it had stopped altogether. We had decided to treat ourselves to a private pool as we didn't much want to go in the public pools and be part of the soup! It was advertised as a haven of tranquility and we were really looking forward to this bit of luxury. When we got there we were shown round to our pool in it's own private area surrounded by lush rainforest. We had a very luxurious changing area and a gorgeous little pool that was brimming with steaming hot water. The sign by the pool said Te Wai Taurima which translates as The Tending Waters. The pools are fed with pure glacial water said to be the waters of Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere , the frozen tears of Hinehukatere for her lost love. According to the legends of Ngai Tahu (the local Maori tribe) these tears of aroha (love) were frozen by the gods, forming the Franz Josef Glacier or to Ngai Tahu as Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere - The Frozen Tears of Hinehukatere. The water was gorgeously hot and soothing and we had a wonderful relaxing time. It was really peaceful here. Once our time was up we showered and dried with the big fluffy white towels which had been provided for us. We both felt all gorgeous and rejuvenated. We bounced back to the camper van and had some lunch before walking into the town to do a bit of shopping at the Te Koha Gallery. Amongst other things they sell jewellery hand made from Aotea, a beautiful green gem stone that is found only in a small area north of here around Haas. It will not accumulate or retain negative energy or vibrations and in my hand the stone pulsed with positive energy and made my skin tingle. After looking round this wonderful gallery and perusing the gift shops we went for a walk to the Waiho River. The river is fed from melt water from the glacier and the riverbed is a very wide and dramatic place full of beautiful stripy rocks. From the river we had a walk through the rainforest and then we returned to the camp site with my hands still tingling from the amazing Aotea stone. The sand flies were rampant again today and they ravaged us till bed time. It was also another rainy night with our back doors once again stuffed full of paper towels!