This land is Fiordland, this land is my land (...and other Westland wonders)

It's been almost a week since our last post, and boy, have we been busy. We started last weekend with a sunrise dive to stunning Milford Sound. The drive was gorgeous, but the sound (actually a fjord) has weather all its own, but our nature cruise was as still spectacular in the rain - dolphins swimming and playing alongside the boat, fur seals sunning themselves, and albatrosses being albatrosses. Oh, and there were literally hundreds of waterfalls as rains poured down the valley walls.

Weather continued to be dreary the next day, so filled our faces with more glorious Fergburgers in Queenstown and ventured westward over Haast pass, via the GATES OF HAAST, alongside cliffs and canyons and more waterfalls. The clouds parted as we approached the Tasman Sea, as we got our first glimpse of snow-capped Mt. Cook from the road. Very exciting.

We spent the night alongside Lake Paringa and caught an unbelievable sunset and sunrise on the lake tucked between mountains. We explored 'Glacier Country' for the next couple days by land and sky. Sky? Yes, sky. That means Owen jumped out of a plane at 16000 ft over a glacier, rainforest and sea, within sight (and above) the country's tallest peak. Ashley took some amazing pictures, with her feet firmly planted on stable ground (we'll share pictures later). Franz Josef and Fox glaciers were fun to check out up close, and Ashley did her best park ranger impression.

We headed north from there along the coast to some cute towns, including Hokutika, land of the Greenstone (jade, or Pounamu), and perused some local crafts. We caught another amazing sunset just north of Greymouth before hunkering down for the night in Punakaiki, 'Land of Pancake Rocks and Blowholes'. It was as advertised.

Today, we continued our travels northward, which included a stop at a fur seal colony, river gorge, and countless mountain
passes, before settling down for the night along Golden Bay at Pahora Beach. We hope to check out Nelson, Queen Charlotte Sound, and Kaikoura before dropping the campervan off in Christchurch on Sunday. It's gone by way too fast, but we're excited to be back in native soil next Wednesday.