We spent every night in a different place: Te Anau to Queenstown to Fox Glacier to Hokitika..
My favorite camp ground was near Fox Glacier. We were on a driftwood covered beach, and looking back could see Mount Tasman and Mount Cook, the highest point in Australasia,.
In the early morning, we visited the glacier. And the the moment that we walked up, a river that flows under the glacier broke through the ice and we watched as a river appeared and giant chunks of ice came rushing down.
Afterward, we had breakfast and lattes while gazing at Mount Cook at the Lake Matheson cafe, which was posh but a welcome comfort after days of trail mix and camping.
When we walked around Lake Matheson later, Robin went to dip her feet into the lake, but just as her toes grazed the water, I spotted this hungry guy, waiting for a nibble. He was a big one, probably about 30-50 years old! Eels live to be 70 years old.
Another highlight of the trip was Hokitika, where there was a driftwood art competition on the beach. We got to see some of the artists at work. There was a side contest for the kids of building penguin houses.
We also did the first part of the Kepler track, one of New Zealand's great walks. It was a long day of hiking. First, uphill uphill uphill to this point..
Then down, down, down to the lakeside forest which was full of interesting mushrooms.
Driving around New Zealand is quite a treat. We saw so many things, and had so many memorable stops along the way. I'm really lucky to have taken this road trip with the Standleys!