Lake Paringa's sandfly infestation meant an early start, and by about 8:30 we were on the road, headed towards the glaciers. We stopped off on the way to get coffee from a salmon farm, arriving just before a coach-load of tourists. Not sure why tourists would go to a salmon farm, but we're learning that just about everything can be turned into a tourist spot in this country. Then carried on north to Fox glacier, where we did a short walk up to the glacier face....

Check out was at 10 so we thought we'd head into town for a coffee and to post the postcards. After realising that I'd posted the cards from last night in the wrong post box, we asked a postie what we should do. Imagine our surprise when he turned out to be a Geordie. Had a vague look for waterproofs before deciding that we would continue to put our faith in the weather gods. We then got a coffee to take back to the hostel and watched nine para gliders circling ...

We were awake early - before the 7am knock on the door having got into a routine over the last few days. As a reminder that we were in a lodge, not a hotel, we still had to make our sandwiches to eat when we got back on the bus later on, and our breakfast plates had to be returned to a plate station. We had to give back our rucksacks and other borrowed items and get our goods ready for QT in a carrier bag to go on the coach before we left for a cruise of Milfor...

It was another start at the crack of sparrow-fart, with the generator kicking in and turning our lights on at 6ish. This was the last day of walking, which was a good thing as our joints & muscles were making it plain that they thought yesterday's walk was quite sufficient. It was the usual routine of making sarnies and throwing other lunch snacks in our brown bags before breakfast. There was a feeling in the air that everyone was eager to finish today - an...

Another slightly restless night, possibly we were overcompensating too much for the cold - a hot water bottle, silk sleeping liners, a duvet and an extra eiderdown was a bit too much! We opened the door to be greeted by a cheeky Kea, a big green parrot, staring us straight in the face. They have a reputation for kleptomania. Thankfully, it didn't make off with any of our walking boots or other possessions! We made it to the lounge and were quite at home with th...