| On South Id we were just 12,749 km from New York and 10,391 km from Vancouver! |
| Or going the other way, we would have only 9,717 km to go to Capetown if we were sailing across the Atlantic to get home! |
| This is a Weka, about a foot tall, one of NZ's many flightless birds and relatively fearless of humans . |
| Driving along So Id's west coast we passed many streams draining the mountains, powder blue from their load of glacial till in suspension. |
| We arrived at Franz Josef Glacier in late afternoon, but couldn't wait to photograph it. |
| Massive and cool blue, the glacier has retreated up the valley several miles since Cook saw it 250 years ago. |
| This is a Kea, a unique alpine parrot about 18" tall, with a ferocious looking curved beak. |
| The sun sets on the glacier peak, but it's already dusk in the valley, and cold!. |
| The upper reaches of Franz Josef Glacier. |
| Determined and able, Kea birds think there's nothing more fun than to tear off the rubber bits from cars parked at the glacier!! |
| In the morning, to reach the foot of the glacier we walked a mile across acres of glacially deposited boulders |
| Glacial meltwater pours off the face of the mountain, forming powder blue streams and milky rivers. |
| Accumulating more dust than snow, the glacier surface at the lower elevations is dirty and sooty. |
| Crossing a raging snowmelt stream is no challenge for Kiwi engineering! |
| Sturdy, well-constructed cable suspension bridges, are common features of many trails in NZ. |
| This is not a stream you want to cross bare-foot! |
| Our rental Toyota, March 7, 2009, below the Crown Range on the "Devil's Staircase" above Queenstown |
| We spent several hours walking the trail around Lake Murchison below Mt Cook National Park |
| The aptly named Reflection Lake |
| Another day, another glacier, this one is Fox Glacier near Mts Cook and Tasman |
| The BMW of the lousy driver who ruined both our cars, our vacation and Barb's ribcage! |