I peeped round the curtain at 6am the following morning and, sure enough, the dark outlines of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman were clearly visible against a lightening sky. Not a cloud in sight. Half and hour later we were yomping round Lake Matheson to the observation point where the best reflections could be photographed in the mirror lake. The mirror surface wasn't perfect, partly because eels kept surfacing and causing ripples, and partly because of a slight breeze which also disturbed the water.

Back for breakfast then off to Fox Glacier and a climb up to the foot of the ice. There were quite a few groups trekking on the ice but it was steep and they were making slow progress. We were glad that we hadn't signed up for that.

Our B&B in Greymouth was a bit of a treat. Our host kept some sheep and in the morning let us feed them and gave us a demonstration of rounding them up with his dog.

On the road to Nelson we stopped at the Pancake Rocks. These are limestone rocks which have been laid down in layers and seem to be unique. They are very heavily eroded by the sea and there is a blowhole which, when the tide is in and the waves are high, blows a water spout high into the air.

The road to Nelson through the Buller Pass is a fantastic drive. The road twists along beside the river, under towering cliffs and through majestic mountain scenery. We stopped to test our nerve on NZ's highest swing bridge over the Buller river. There used to be a gold mining community there back in the day. Anyway the bridge turned out to be quite challenging - it was very narrow, you could see through the bottom, it swung about a lot and it was very high up. Susan skipped across and bounced up and down in the middle. I didn't like it.

Most of the smaller towns along the way were a bit like frontier towns - rough and ready and not much to them. However, Nelson is a city and was really quite nice. We did a quick circuit around the cathedral and down the main street before heading off to Kaikura. This is the whale watching centre for NZ. Dolphins are available for swimming races. You can go seal watching for 70 Dollars but if you just drive along to the car park the seals come to watch you for free.