Another free day! Yeah! There is so much to do in this tiny township. We had the choices of heli hiking, scenic helicopter flights, horse trekking, quad biking, skydiving, glacier valley walk, lake kayaking or a hot pools visit. We opted to just have a relaxing day and did some hiking and exploring of the area. There are 110 kms of walking tracks which pass through the forest and are dominated by the lofty peaks of Cook, Tasman, and La Perouse.  The glacier...

We travelled across the Southern Alps via the stunningly scenic Arthur's Pass to Franz Josef, in the rainforest. Three main roads provide access to passes to the mountains. One is Lewis Pass at the northernmost part; southernmost is Burke's Pass and central is Arthur's Pass, which marks the eastern portal of the Otira Tunnel, the only rail link through the mountains. It is an 8 km long tunnel completed in 1923. It took 15 years to construct and is...