June 18, 2017 – Fox Glacier

I’ve been thinking about Cadbury in New Zealand and finally went to the website.  It’s fun!  https://cadbury.co.nz/our-chocolate/our-history/

While I’m playing catch up, here are a few more photos from days gone past.  It’s pretty funny that sending an email from the phone in my right hand to the computer on my lap takes half a day or more!  That’s why the phone photos show up late!

Eggs Benedict!

Marilyn's Super Breakfast

Before dinner drinks at the cinema

Super large kitchen

Lunch on the cruise

Mulled wine with an origami coaster

Hot coffee, with extras!

Moroccan chicken salad

As I was shoving the HEAVY bedspread off the bed last night, I discovered that when you rub your fingers back and forth you generate light!  It was like having trapped some fireflies!  Of course, when I tried to show Marilyn this morning, I couldn’t reproduce it!.

There is frost on our car!  That must be why there were towels on all the windshields last night;  but the heat pump in our room keeps us the perfect temperature.  Did I mention last night that the towel bar is heated? It’s more like a condo than a motel room!  The kitchen has everything in threes – cups, glasses, wine glasses, pots, pans, a French press, microwave – everything!

We’re waiting for the ice to melt off the roads before we leave.  We’re only driving to Fox Glacier and should have lots of time.  Our receptionist, Marna, tells us to stop at the Blue Poles, which turns out to mean the Blue Pools!  And there is Fantail Falls along the way, as well.

The siren we heard yesterday at Arrowtown is going off here in Wanaka; yesterday it was mid-afternoon and today it is around ten in the morning.  We’ll sure be asking what that’s all about!

OH!  Yesterday we passed Gentle Annie Creek and further down the road was Roaring Meg Looking.  We figure she must be Annie’s evil twin!

Out in the parking lot we run into Marna and thank her for the towel.  She says many people who come to visit don’t know about frost and think hot water on the windshield is a good idea!  Of course it’s not, so the motel people protect the uninitiated.  She also tells us that the siren is a call for the volunteer fire department, so they really don’t like to hear it;  it is usually for a traffic accident.

We think the black ice has probably melted by now and we set off.  Mostly, our beautiful mountain views are obscured by mist and the occasional drizzle.  We’ve been very lucky with the weather!  Everyone told us that it rains all the time in the winter but we’ve hardly seen any.  We’ve got our ponchos, though, so we’re ready rain or shine!

We were also told that the drive times will be much longer than we expect from checking the map or the mileage (kilometerage?).  That does turn out to be true!  We are grateful to get to tonight’s lodging before dark!

Before we even leave town, though, we decide to stop by the lake to see the frost and the mist rising.

Our first stop is the Blue Pools.  The color of the water is like that magnificent Caribbean blue!  There’s about a twenty minute walk to a bridge over the river, then another short walk to a place where you can get down to the rocky river bank.  People have left anunchuks!  I guess they are universal!  The walk takes us through a dimly light tropical rain forest and you can easily imagine a Hobbit village around any bend.

Later, at the Wildlife Center, we learn more about this effort to preserve the native birds.

Locks of love are everywhere!

Many of the lakes have brown and rainbow trout.

Next we are looking for Fantail Falls and hoping that it is close to the road.  We’ve not seen a single place to eat or buy gas and it’s a good thing we always have our trusty oatmeal before we leave in the morning, and often gas up the car, too.  Time is becoming a bit of a factor.

Ah!  There’s another brown sign coming, and it’s our falls.  It’s only a short hike off the road and I can see why they chose the name.  The water spreads out toward the bottom, just like the bird fans out his tail feathers.  We’re finally getting to use our ponchos!  Marilyn has a substantial one that she bought at the army-navy store.  I’m wearing my old Fannies poncho from decades ago!  But it does the job!  And I’m easy to spot in the woods since it’s white!

Here's another of those funky vans!

They're everywhere!  They're everywhere!!

According to the map there is another falls.  It’s the one that other people had told us about;  but we trusted Marna and she was right to suggest Fantail.  Happily, we don’t have to choose! Thunder Creek Falls is an even shorter walk.  It’s one of those extremely tall and narrow falls that are so amazing to watch. And it’s still poncho time.  It’s not really raining, like we think of rain in Florida;  but it is drizzling and it’s good to be able to keep the cameras covered.

Looking at the map tells us that if we plan to eat anything we need to check our supplies here in the car.  We have apples, cheese and crackers and nuts left over from the cruise, chips, a Cadbury Perky Nana bar and water.  That will hold us ‘til dinner!

We come down out of the mountains and are driving north along the Tasman Sea.  Sometimes we can even catch a glimpse of the waves.  Finally, we’re at Fox Glacier, which is both a town and a glacier!  The entire drive has been along State Highway 6, a two-lane road, and I don’t think we’ve averaged more than one other car every five minutes!  And this is the only road!  Once again we comment to each other that we are so lucky we decided to make this trip in the winter! Yes, it’s a bit chilly;  but we’re dressed for it and there are so few people to get in our way.  None of the attractions or restaurants are crowded and the prices are lower. I don’t think the middle of winter would be too grand, what with driving in the ice and snow, but June has been perfect!

When we check into the Ivorytown Backpacker Lodge, we ask if they have an ensuite room available and for only an extra ten dollars a night we can live in luxury!  The receptionist notices my travel necklace and recognizes it for what it is!  She says I’m a bit like a magpie!  She turns on the heat in our room before returning to finish up our registration.

There are three twin beds, so we have more room to spread out and the kitchen is practically right outside our door!  The only drawback is that their wifi is pretty slow and spotty.  I might not get to post for a couple of days.

Annie at the front desk suggests The Last Kitchen for dinner.  It’s a short walk down the hill and when we arrive there is only one occupied table.  But by the time we leave, they are completely full.  Tonight’s soup is broccoli and blue cheese!  Who could resist that?  I have a bowl of it and a blue cod burger.  I have to take the fries home in a take-away bag, ‘cause that’s just too much food.  Marilyn has risotto that looks quite tasty.

Back up the hill, though the communal kitchen, and home for hot showers and bed.  The shower stall is a bit tiny and Marilyn can’t get to her feet without pushing back the shower curtain!  One of the few times it’s better to be short!  Of course she can see over the dashboard in the car! The room warms up eventually and the covers are extremely toasty.  I have to remove one of the duvets;  but with some melatonin and one duvet I’m down for the count!