Fascinating mountain world

Since the weather here is so changeable, we have gotten used to choosing our destinations based on the weather forecast (of course, only if the distances allow). By the way, a local told us that the newspaper said this year is the worst summer in 150 years.

So we continued from the heart of the island to the west coast to the glaciers, where it usually rains a lot. It was the same for us, but fortunately we found a nice campsite with a large communal room and a fireplace! What a luxury!

However, the sun was shining at the Franz Josef Glacier and we did a great hike in the area, crossing many streams and gorges with suspension bridges.

After five days, we were back in the interior of the country, in our favorite place Wanaka. It's really incredible: on the west coast, our car thermometer showed 11 degrees Celsius and it was raining cats and dogs. About 45 minutes later towards the inland, it was 22 degrees Celsius and sunny.

After soaking up some sun and doing a beautiful hike in Wanaka, we continued towards Queenstown. However, we immediately drove along the lake to Glenorchy, where many scenes for the 'Lord of the Rings' film series were shot. A few days later in Queenstown, we watched many of the adventure activities (bungee jumping, rafting boats) and were amazed by the courage of the athletes and the high prices.   

We have now driven a bit further south to Te Anau to take a small boat tour in Milford Sound in the next few days. We want to take plenty of time for the journey there, as it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world. Every route we drive by car is already an experience. The landscape here is so beautiful and varied!

The past few weeks have been slightly overshadowed, as Torsten had a bad flu and I had a pinched or irritated nerve. Fortunately, we have plenty of time and can take a few days to recover.