The West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand

For those who thought after the last two consecutive posts that there would now be a regular post, I'm sorry to disappoint you :D But today, I have a slightly bigger and more picture-rich update about what I've been up to and seen in the last few days. The West Coast of the South Island is not really well developed in terms of infrastructure. Every few hundred kilometers, there's a small village and a gas station. There's almost no cell phone reception, let alone Wi-Fi, so that's why the post took a while. First, I want to show you some pictures that I took from the ferry. The crossing went without any problems, and after about 3 1/2 hours on the ferry, I was the fourth one to drive off the boat with my van. I parked a bit away in the port of Picton, cooked myself some lunch, and watched the ferry being unloaded and later loaded again. Since it was already afternoon, I only drove about 100 kilometers to my sleeping spot. This spot would stay in my memory because it was the coldest night so far. The nature that I passed through with the ferry and later with the car was called Marlborough Sounds. Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of coastal inlets in the northern part of the South Island of New Zealand, which were formed by the rise of the sea level and the resulting flooding of river valleys. It reminded me a bit of the fjord landscape in Norway. The next morning, I went to the Buller Gorge Swingbridge, the largest suspension bridge in New Zealand, first thing. Despite my concerns about heights, I dared to go on it :D After that, a short thirty-minute walk along the Buller River, a former gold panning area, awaited me. Back at the car, I continued towards the coast. When I arrived there, I had an outstanding view of the beautiful coastline. The road ran right along the coast, which made it even more beautiful. My last destination of the day was the Pancake Rocks. A constructed walking path led through the rock formations, which have been formed over thousands of years. Due to the holes in the rocks, there were huge water fountains every time a wave crashed against them. A small rainbow would form in the spray afterward. It was a truly amazing natural spectacle. The rocks really looked like stacked pancakes. Shortly after that, I looked for a place for the night and parked at a parking lot right behind the beach. After dinner, I took a long walk along the beach and then went to bed with the sunset. The next day, I didn't have much planned, but I had to cover a relatively long distance by car to get near the famous glaciers. In the morning, still along the coastal road, I caught sight of the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The snow-covered hills amazed me once again! In general, if I were to stop at every spot where I think "Wow, what a view," I wouldn't get more than 20 kilometers a day. The nature and landscape here are so impressive and seem to change every few kilometers. Today, on the way to the glaciers, I planned a short detour to Hokitika Gorge. A small area at the foot of the Southern Alps of New Zealand. There, turquoise blue glacier water and a small suspension bridge awaited me, a truly amazing sight. I even tasted the water, and it was wonderfully refreshing. I would have loved to fill up a bottle. But I had already filled my bottles with water the day before and left them in the car. After that, I made a slightly longer stop in the village of Hokitika. There was a library with internet there, which was a rare find, and I could perfectly plan the next few days and do some research. Then I drove on to the area near the town of Franz Josef and set up camp there again for the night. The next morning, I drove to the parking lot at the Franz Josef Glacier very early. I was already there around 07:00 AM, and I was the only one around for miles. I took advantage of the early hour and walked three kilometers to the viewpoint for the glacier. There, only a plastic ranger was waiting for me, signaling that I couldn't go any further. Since I was the only human being around, I took the chance to take some self-timer photos. Around 08:30 AM, you could hear the helicopter rotors. Many people pay a lot of money to be flown to the glacier. I had read in advance that after a certain time, there was no more peace and quiet, and one helicopter after another flew toward the glacier. Well, good thing I was already up so early :D After about 30 minutes, I was still alone at the viewpoint and began my walk back. It didn't take long, and a few nature park employees came towards me with a new ranger in hand. After that, many hikers followed. Back at the car, I had breakfast and drove on to the Fox Glacier, which was about 30 kilometers away. However, there were already a lot of cars in the parking lot, and I encountered many other hikers. When you pass by the other hikers like that, it often reminds me of walking through the hallway at work when you see your colleagues in the morning. Some hikers are very nice, greet you, and give you a smile and a good morning. But many just pass by sullenly without saying anything. Well, the hike to the Fox Glacier wasn't particularly long, but it was quite strenuous because it kept going up and down. After half an hour, however, I stood in front of the cardboard ranger, although not as alone as at the Franz Josef Glacier. The view was still beautiful, and I admired the glacier from a distance. With a glacier like that, I always find it fascinating how big they once were and how quickly they retreat and melt. Furthermore, the idea that it's thousands of years old ice is simply amazing. Signs were placed at both glaciers, showing the extent of the glacier in different years. After these two beautiful hikes, I continued south with my camper and slept by a huge lake yesterday. White peaks rise up everywhere here, there are huge blue lakes, and a breathtaking landscape. Unfortunately, it has gotten a bit cold and the weather doesn't play along as much anymore. A lot of rain and thick clouds often spoil the perfect view. But as I said before, let's make the best of it! For the next few days, I have a visit to the world-famous Milford Sounds planned, where it's supposed to rain as well :( I have already booked a two-hour boat tour online, and despite the weather, I'm really looking forward to it. As soon as I have time and Wi-Fi again, I will get in touch. Until then!