Go West!

While dropping off our hire car at the delightful time of 5:30am, I managed to travel the wrong way down a one way street on two occasions, the second time after I performed a U-turn and found myself facing some on-coming cars. I am very much looking forward to driving Christchurch's streets again in a couple of weeks.

We clambered aboard the TransAlpine train, and got a fairly up-close and personal impression of just how high the New Zealand mountain ranges are. While the cabin crew alternated the conditions of our car between 'sauna' and 'cool-room' via the thermostat, we witnessed snow-capped peaks, gorgeous river valleys, and the worst-made coffee this side of the Tasman.

Expecting it to be overcast and a little icy in Greymouth, we were instead greeted with a warm, sunny day - having to peel layers off as a result. The shopkeepers here continued the trend of giving the children lollipops - just a little TOO nice if you ask me...

As we drove south along the main West Coast Road, we noted some sizeable waves, as well as the continuing theme of devil-may-care road safety. New Zealand, it appears, is in love with the Single Lane Bridge. They are everywhere, even on the major roads between cities. Out on the West Coast, they have decided to up the ante in terms of risky behaviour. One such example is Cameron's Bridge, where a single lane bridge also doubles as the railway line! In terms of who gives way to who, I am unlikely to push the point with a Freight Train.

While the NZ road system seems unfamiliar with the safety code, there is no questioning them about their politeness. At the end of road works (and there have been many), there is frequently a 'Thank You' sign. For some unfathomable reason, this tickled Jenny pink. Since Auckland (no I am not kidding) she has been trying to get a photo of one of these signs. I reversed back along the road after spotting this one, to allow Jen to achieve one of her, erm, goals of the trip..

As we drew nearer to Fox Glacier, the scenery grew even more impressive and the mountain streams took on a definite blue hue. If sound came with this picture, you would likely hear Josh snoring blissfully away in the car.







We booked into the mundane-sounding Sunset Motel, and were pleasantly surprised. Our room (and, let's face it, every part of the Fox Glacier village) gave a great outlook of the Glacial Valley itself.