Scenery Overload!

While we were in Wellington last weekend we had a conversation with our host, Matt, about how you can only take in so much during a visit to a museum. Even if you have an entire day available your brain just can't handle more than a few hours - it's like a saturated sponge. That was/is my brain today. I felt drunk off of the stunning scenery and felt I couldn't possibly appreciate another beautiful view and then BAM! a sunset over a rocky shore line and BAM! layers of mountains silhouetted against the skyline. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We started the day at Franz Josef Glacier. We decided a walk on the ice wasn't worth the $186NZ price tag (and I prefer to avoid tour groups anyway - Dad has worn off on me) so we ended up just hiking up as close as we could without a guide. Spectacular views. We were like tiny ants in the foreground of the magnificent glacier and surrounding rock formations. On the walk to the glacier mountains and waterfalls surround you on all sides. The valley you walk through is eerily grey but makes the scenery around it even more stunning.

We had our daily picnic lunch and then headed to Lake Matheson. Supposedly the best of the mirror lakes. There was a slight wind that produced a rippling effect in the water and clouds that covered the mountain peaks. Despite the lack of a perfect view it was my favorite part of the day. The walk was good for my sould The rainforest/bush/woods that surrounded us was comforting, calming, invigorations.  Large trees were toppled over and now covered in a dense green carpet with younger trees growing from their compost. Huge, tall white pines (the tallest trees in New Zealand) towered above, their scrawny trunks like skinny arms supporting fat arthritic fingers,  limbs covered in layers of moss. I didn't know where to look. My travel companions went ahead of me as I admired the canopy. I was so distracted that I fell off the edge of the track and down about four feet. I'm lucky I didn't fall into the creek! A non-English speaking couple helped me out. I was thoroughly embarrassed. The mention of the creek reminds me of the water. It was a dark reddish color, not dirty like the rust color that sometimes comes out of your faucet but a clean and clear reddish black color. Perfect for creating a dark mirrored surface but one that was also transparent in the right light. It was cool to see the dark water mix with clear water downstream.

We played like young children for most of the last half of the trek. Taking funny photos of our distorted reflections in the lake, swinging like Tarzan from a thick long vine, jumping up and down on a suspension footbridge. A really wonderful afternoon.

But wait, there's more! This is scenery overload after all!

Then we headed to Fox Glacier. Very similar to Franz Josef - stunning, tall, green surroundings, waterfalls, grey, that whole huge block of blue ice thing - yet it was also very different. Maybe it was the time of day or that there were significantly less people or the proximity we were allowed, it was must more moving. Again, you feel SO TINY in the valley where the glacier used to live. The steep mountain sides just soar all around you. Here the grey water mixed with clear blue and created a blue-chalky miniature lake and a vivid aqua-blue-green lake like the ones I saw during the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. I was so jazzed by the end of this walk that I was literally yelling and running. My travel buddies may have though I was mad but that didn't prevent them from joining in.

Then (yes! there's more!) the drive from Fox Glacier to Haast to find our accommodations for the night The sunset lasted for the entire 1.5 hour drive. Mountains, ocean, rocky coastline, pastures, pine droves, twisty roads, single lane bridges, a fuzzy dusk. I wanted to ask if we could stop along the beach to take some photos and just soak in the sunset but I didn't. I was saturated. I was completely full and content and happy.

All this in one random day. Life is good.