After 5 months of working life it was high time for a holiday and so off we set in Gordon to explore the west coast. Now this may not have appeared like the best of choices at first glance, the weather generally consisting of rain rain and more rain with it being winter to boot but our weather luck continued where it had left off from our trip to
Fiordland and we experienced nothing but blue skies. After a chilly Friday camped out at Klondyke corner just short of Arthurs Pass village we headed up to Punakaiki, the most northerly spot. The site here was the Pancake rocks,
an area of exposed rocks that look like stacked pancakes (apparently) The whole area is limestone and so there are stacks a-plenty creating an impressive stretch of coastline and inland we wondered up Fox river to a fantastic 200m long cave. The Pancake Rocks come alive at high tide and we were incredibly lucky that this was in the evening of our arrival just as the sun shook free from its cloudy veil to illuminate the blowholes a shade of golden. The sea was not
rough enough for a good drenching but having arrived expecting not a lot I was pleasantly surprised. It was then a case of spoiling ourselves and checking into a backpackers - hey, it was a holiday! The journey south was great having picked up a guide to the area around the glaciers pointing out some choice spots. One of these was a coast walk by HariHari which led through lovely bush to a stunning beach covered in driftwood with the snow capped mountains a more than suitable backdrop!
That don
e we headed to Franz Joseph for a quick glimpse at the ice flow followed by a beer before parking up in a quiet lay by. It is winter and we woke to a thick frost but clear sky and so we headed up on our first day tramp of the holiday, the climb up the ridge to the viewpoint of Alex Knob. With the predicted time to ascend the 1000+m ridge being an 8 hour round trip we were pleased to make the top in 2 and felt like we deserved the splendid views over the Franz Joseph glacier and surrou
nding peaks. As lunch spots go we could not have asked for more and the sun allowed us to linger before heading back down. This earlier than planned finish meant that we had time to head to Lake Matheson, the postcard spot of the region offering perfect reflections of the Southern Alps. When we arrived the coffee shop was closed and the mountains shrouded in cloud. Still we were there and felt it would be rude not to take a stroll around the lake. Thankfully I took my camera and tripod along too as the clouds soon parted to
show the view we were homing for. Unfortunately the sun was just a little too low to light the surrounding trees but that's just being picky! After another hostel night we took to the ice of Fox glacier on a full day guided walk. It proved to be a very enjoyable day with a good small group of people, something a bit different for us. Having never worn crampons before we thought it might be hard going but the definitely did the job and after a short while you could almost forget you were walking on ice.
It was then time to properly stretch o
ur legs as we embarked on our first overnight tramp for quite a while. It took us 6 hours to get up to Welcome Flat, the walk being a bit harder than anticipated and very cold with the valley completely devoid of any sun. It was enjoyable though and the destination worth the reputation with the natural hot pools being hot and offering amazing views as the sun dipped below the snow capped mountains. The hut was full with a couple of big groups giving a
good atmosphere and plenty of body warmth to keep the sleeping area nice and warm that night. the walk back to the van the following day was possibly even colder but still enjoyable and having left the hut early there was plenty of time for a leisurely drive down to Haast. We stopped at Lake Moeraki and took the path to the beach having read there was a chance to see the Fiordland Crested Penguin. They proved to be too shy, though we expected as much with it just being the start of the breeding
season, though the beach was lovely and a seal did pop by to say hello so we got our wildlife fix. The sun set just after we pulled into the viewpoint at Shipwreck cove and we then headed to another backpackers for a much needed hot shower.
Time flies when you're having fun and it was Friday already. We drove down to the end of the road at Jackson Bay, stopping several times to admire the impressive coastline, before heading inland towards Wanaka. We parked up in a pretty lakeside area just short
of town with the scenery changing from temperate rainforest to the high country and mountains of Aspiring National Park once we crossed Haast Pass. The original plan had been to spent our final proper day skiing but with snow in a bit of a short supply we took the Aspiring NP road past Triple Cone ski field into the park itself and hiked up the valley to see Rob Roy Glacier, again well worth the effort which at least kept out the cold. Back in Wanaka there were no rooms available and so rather than splashing out on our
last night it was another night in Gordon after a tasty curry. We woke to find the inside frosted from the temperature which the internet later told us was -5 degrees and spoiled ourselves by heading to a warm cafe for a spot of breakfast. 7 hours, and several stops later, we arrived back home with that post-holiday feeling - "I don't want to go back to work tomorrow". What a week, we are already thinking about our return to the wonderful west!
1 to have any potential, the shot of the mountains and road taken in Tibet. As it turned out it not even accepted and as it was the first one of mine to be shown I was not expecting the night to get any better. As it was however, the other 3 were all 
accepted! No honours and no best print this time round but still, I was pretty chuffed. I have missed the last couple of monthly competitions but the one this coming week is "Trees" and I hope to have a few ready for Thursday.
