After a good night's sleep, we awoke to a double rainbow! And just the beginning of lots...and lots...of rain.
Today was a day full of dynamics. Jude decided to drive, and went through a grueling several hours drive...through twists and turns, incline and decline, on roads that were meant for cars the size of a Geo Metro (although we were passing full on tourist busses in our oversized vw campervan in the pouring rain. You could just sense the rain changing the mood of our trip. Jude talked about aborting the planned loop in favor of back tracking, and shortening the route.
After a drenched 30 minute walk on the rocky beach and getting eaten by sand flies, I can pretty much guarantee that thoughts of the Routeburn Track came flooding back into both our minds...and how much better of a time that was.
One savior was the iPod my dad bought me for my birthday. There are virtually no radio stations we could pick up on the west coast of South Island. Beck and The White Stripes blaring through the tiny built in speakers of the iPod in the front of the campervan was quite nice - an encouraging soundtrack for the rain.
After a loooooooooong drive, we arrived at Fox Glacier sometime just before 4PM. Fox was quite a dissappointment. There was a no-pass barrier setup to prevent walking traffic from advancing far from the entrance walk to the glacier. I overheard one of the DOC workers explain that a rock slide that had occurred amidst the pouring rain. There are reminders everywhere that we are in a dynamic landscape. The water flowing from the base of the glacier was quite impressive. We took some videos from the swinging bridge and moved on.
The next stop, Lake Matheson, was another bit of dissappointment. Supposedly, the reflection of Mt. Cook - New Zealand's tallest mountain - on the still water is breathtaking. The mountain must have been buried deep behind the clouds, but from the pictures shown at the tourist center, I'd say the vista probably looked more like a tourist snapshot opportunity, than it did breathtaking. I guess I won't know for sure unless I come back to see it on a finer day.
The farmland in the neighboring area was somehow refreshing for me. It's excellent to see animals enjoying open pasteurs, wondering around, adding personality to the landscape.
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