Thursday 6th February - A day in Franz Josef Village

We decided to take a days break here as it is so lovely. There is a little side road excursion that takes you up the valley with the glacier in it . We thought we would cycle just a few kilometers to the car park and go along the short one and a half hour walk to the viewing point.

The day started rather cold in the tent. I think we must have been in mountain dew as I could here drops of condensation dripping off the inside of the fly sheet. The grass was soaking when I went to the toilet block. We lay in our sleeping bags and at about eight a.m. a shaft of sunlight finally got over the mountains and the damp burnt off within minutes. It has been a lovely hot day, one of the hottest we have had and yet according to the local information this is the wettest place in New Zealand according to annual rainfall figures. We are so lucky.

We walked to the glacier viewing area and viewed the small glacier, it has receeded considerably over the years. We returned to our bikes and spotted a sign to Peter's Pool and it was only a short walk. It was a beautiful natural pool with the glacier as a backdrop. There was a seat in the shade, so we could enjoy an afternoon rest/nap watching the swallows dive to the waters surface to feed. This was the most beautiful part of NZ so far!

A lovely relaxed day and well worth the stop over.

Talking on Skype as the sun went down last night

First thing this morning. The sun has soon burnt of the dew

Notice at the start of our walk

Nice waterfalls on the way

That's as far as you get to the glacier unless you purchase a helicopter flight

Peter's Pool where T had a sleep on the bench. My best spot in NZ so far