A fox is a wolf who sends flowers.

On the way to the west coast there were a lot of scenic places to stop including Thunder Creek Falls, Roaring Billy Falls, etc. Fantail Falls were just a small set of falls close to the road, however I was struck more by the rock formations created in the riverbed. There were dozens of rock cairns created by visitors. They were all over the place like the sandcastles of children at the beach. For whatever reason I just found them interesting and walked around just seeing the different construction and design techniques. After a few more scenic stop, including the .5 mile single lane, two-way Haast Bridge, I headed on towards Ship Creek Beach just north of Haast and then on to Knights Point. After a few more random stops I headed towards Fox Glacier. It was getting late, so I knew I wouldn't have a chance to do much near the glacier anyway as I planned to go hiking on the other one the next day. I found a trail that had once been used to access the glacier face a long time ago and enjoyed the overlook it gave of the valley and ice wall. After the hike I did end up going to the glacier face and walking around a bit before it got too dark to see. I cooked dinner in the parking lot in total solitude and simply enjoyed the silence and sounds of rushing glacier melt. I stayed a while to watch the place go from pitch black to enough illumination such that I could see decently well as the moon started to rise. I nearly thought that the Doors of Durin (entrance to Moria in LOTR books) were going to be light up.

Knights Point

Thunder Creek Falls

Gates of Haast

Roaring Billy Falls

We all like praise, but a hike in our pay is the best kind of ways.

I did the Rob Roy Glacier trail in Mt. Aspiring since I didn't have enough time to really do an overnight trip and still see what I wanted along the west coast. It had a nice climb and some great views, though I had to almost literally push past a few cows on the way up. Once back on the road I only had time to stop a few lakeside vistas near Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea before jusst making it to blue Pool before it was too dark to see well.

Pentium: A CPU aspiring to be a blast furnace.

After a good night's sleep I got everything packed away and headed away from Queenstown for the last time and toward Mt. Aspiring National Park. Just outside of town I picked up a couple of locals, Kermit and Kat, that were hitching a ride to a particular pub in Cardrona, an old gold mining town, along the way just for fun for the day. I might have merely passed this place had it not been for the two riders. I stopped with them for a spell to enjoy a nice brew outside at the old hotel/restaurant/bar. After leaving, I headed to Wanaka, watched a lovely sunset across the lake while cooking dinner, and drove by Puzzle World just to check out the architecture. Once it got dark I headed towards Mt. Aspiring, passing countless sheep, cattle, and rabbits, until I was pretty exhausted and pulled near a river just before a roadway water crossing to finally crash for the night.

Surfing the curl of the gravity wave on the shores of infinity.

I slept in a bit this morning, had lunch at Fergburger, and signed up for the River Surfing trip at one of the small local hostels so I could get some free Internet time. After checking email, and paying some bills, I hit the public library for a while to do some reading and pass the time. I got picked up at the downtown office and shuttled to the river surfing site. Almost no one in the group had ever been white water rafting, so I knew it was going to be slow going. The water levels were relatively low, so the whole experience was a lot less fun and exciting than I had hoped. The staff, especially Vera and Bjorn, was great, however I hated feeling corralled like cattle in that any time one strayed they would keep calling out, giving commands, to get them back close enough so that much of the time people were running into each other. I do understand that every single trip they must deal with neophytes and the uninitiated and have to be so careful. even on this trip from the start one person was overwhelmed by it all as it seemed they hadn't don't any kind of physically demanding thing in many years and had to be held onto by one of the guides the entire run down the river. I did enjoy myself, but just wasn't as thrilled as I hoped. We did two runs along the river, so we got some decent time out of it.

After we were done we were dropped off at the Onsen Spa just outside Queenstown for a cross promotion. It was a newly opened spa that was offering free soaks in the hot tub for 30 minutes. Since I have a hot tub at home, I really wasn't that excited, however the views were great and the whole outfit was pretty outstanding. There were private spa rooms that had a garage door style wall that would retract with a cliff-side overview of the valley. I suspect this would be a perfect place to spend some time when there is snow all around and I would really recommend this place having already had the chance to experience it!

When cave men got together they formed clubs

Today Cindi, Emily, and I walked around Invercargill including the town's large gardens and Queens Park Aviary for a while before heading up the east coast a bit. We had all heard about the scenic drive around the Caitlins that included sites such as a petrified forest along a rocky shore, Cathedral Cave, lighthouse, Purakanui Falls, etc. We stopped by a really neat place called the 'Lost Gypsy Gallery' that was an old hippie bus filled with hand made crafts and machines that fully operated. The cathedral cave was a hydraulically created sea cave that had cavernous openings and plenty of space in which to walk as long as it was done at low tide. It was a steep walk to reach it, but a neat location and experience anyway.

I did have a grand idea of running in the fields with the sheep. I had imagined running long as they play around and some great pictures of all the playful animals like at the petting zoo, all nudging up for handouts or attention. Well, things don't really happen that way it seems since as soon as I crossed the fence, everyone of the damn things bolted away. I felt like a stone with ripples in the water since everywhere I moved, there was a huge no-fly zone around me. All I could get were picture of sheep asses as they ran away. so much for frolicking in the fields. I did get to see a pretty cool looking penguin at the petrified forest, so that was kind of neat. We hit a few more sites along the way before eating near Gore and driving back to Queenstown. Once there, Emily, Cindi, and I parted ways once I dropped them at the hostel. I had a great time talking to them and traveling around the east coast and Stewart Island with them. They would only let me pay for about $20 of the gas we used since they claimed I saved them money in the car rental, though I would have let them ride for free just for the company. though most of all my travels in the past have been solo endeavours, I've found that things can be a lot more enjoyable when with the right traveling companion and am glad I have the perfect one at home waiting for me so we can do our own adventures in the future.

The storms of our life prove the strength of our anchor.

Emily's new friend, Ryan lives on Stewart Island and usually works on the ferry, however with a recent injury, he was out 'sick' today. He graciously drove us a bit around the island to some of the better sites such as Observation Hill and Lee Bay. We all hung around near the large anchor sculpture and played in the sand for a while chatting before heading back in. After catching the late afternoon ferry (the earlier one was fully booked) we headed back to Bluff and then on to Invercargill where the girls stayed in a hostel while I slept in the camper.