Greetings from Pohara

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days. After spending a couple of very long days in the car to get from Queenstown near the bottom of the South island to our current base on the north west tip, our accommodation has no internet connection so no blogs.
It has however been a busy few days and we've covered alot of terrain. The landscape changes so quickly here. One minute you are driving through some serious mountains in Fjordland straight out of Mordor in Lord of the Rings and then you hit lush tropical glades with giant tree ferns and exotic flowers. Next your amongst  fertile vallies and planes with orchards galore. We now know why most of our apples in the UK come from NZ.  I don't think I have been in a place that is so varied and different.

We spent a night in a place called Franz Josef on the west coast which is part of an area known as Glacier Drive. The glaciers are pretty high up in the mountains and this being New Zealand you can get helicoptered in  for a glacier tramp. We didn't bother! We did do a smallish hike (or tramp as they call walking here) that promised views of the Tasman sea and the glacier itself. The Franz Josef river that runs down from  the glacier was the colour of light blue milk and icy cold.
We then did a bit of a mega drive to arrive in Pohara on Golden Bay and are based here for the next 5 days- which is nice. We are staying in a Bach- the NZ term for a holiday house. It's a 5 minute walk to the beach and peaceful and quite. We even have some resident sheep in the garden....
Sorry to make you jealous back home but the weather has been in the high 20's with blue skies and a lovely breeze. Yesterday we did a day tramp along part of the Abel Tasman coastal walk. This is a five day long distance walk that's very popular. I'll put on some photos of the beaches and coast line to give some idea of what it's like. Lots of seals and sea birds as well as crystal clear water and golden sands....Maybe I could get a job for the NZ tourist board....

Our plan over the next day or two is to do a bit more walking and to go on a sea kayak trip. We then pack up on Friday and head for the small city of Nelson. It's just a couple of hours along the coast and is the oldest settlement on the south island-famed for its seafood and bohemian lifestyle. So I am looking forward to that.

Andrew has promised to do a guest blog soon and we will hopefully be in range of a wifi zone when we get to Nelson. At the moment I am sitting in Takaka public library which is kind enough to offer a free hour's w ifi access to all and sundry. Until next time.