We saw Fox Glacier and Mt. Cook today but neither without clouds. It really is a beautiful area. These are the "Southern Alps". We went along one point called Nights Point. There is a scenic overlook and a beach there that was covered with New Zealand fur seals (kekeno). I wished we could have gotten to it. I took a picture of the brown spots for the heck of it. The little brown spots became bigger brown spots with the binoculars. We stopped to pick up picnic supplies and then headed to a beach the driver of the other bus (Matt) knew about. Nick had never been there. Our two buses have been traveling together a few days. Their bus has four people on it and we have ten. Travelers are sparse this close to Christmas but is great for us. We took a turn off the road with no marking. It was a very narrow path that the bus could barely maneuver. Matt told us to take our shoes off that we’d have to cross a stream. I can’t go barefoot so I wore my river sandals. The water was crystal clear and FREEZING! I thought that once we’d done that we’d have it made. Well….. there was a long walk down a dirt trail that was now mud from all the rain and was full of puddles. We were ooshing and gooshing our way. I was toward the end of the group and at one point my left leg sunk to my knee. I got off balance and was struggling forever to catch myself. I’m sure it was a cartoon picture. Yuck! Bottom down! I just kind of bounced and was back up. I was a sight though. I went straight to the surf and just walked in to rinse off. This was a beautiful secluded beach with STRONG surf. There were rip tides here so it wasn’t a place to swim. The surf was high and broke directly on the sand. It was a beautiful sound. After we ate the kids cranked up a footie game. I walked to one end of the beach where there was a lagoon. I pulled my britches off and washed them in the lagoon. By the time I walked back they had dried. (Nylon) Then I headed to the opposite end of the beach. Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement. A lone seal had been lying next to a huge piece of driftwood not more than 50 feet from where we were. No one had noticed it. I was getting close walking in that direction and we’d been making lots of noise. I guess it decided it was time to go to sea. The tide was coming in as well and it would have soon gone anyway. I stooped and watched it awhile and got a picture or two. That was the highlight of my day!! I loved this beach. I also found a shark’s tooth.

The scenery was great today and we could actually see much of it. It seems that there are always clouds along the peaks of the mountains though. It didn’t really cloud up till late afternoon but it was cool all day. My foot was real sore today. The ice-cold stream made a good ice pack for it. Along our way today we saw evidence of landslides and roads that had washed out again. Repair crews were working. Evidence of all the rain is everywhere.

We entered Mt.Aspiring National Park and went through the Gates to Haast Pass. A narrow one-lane bridge opened this up. The road was built in 1962. Lots of building went on that year. At the pass we could get a picture of the waterfall in the front with the snowcaps in the background. It was beautiful. This is so pretty it reminds me a little bit of Yosemite with NO traffic. Jet boats and plane drops are available here. We weren’t really interested in those and it was cold. We were staying in quaint A-frame cabins here. Andrew and I shared one with a gal from Denmark. We enjoyed meeting her and listening to her travel tales. She’s been traveling alone for about ten months. We had a lounge lodge where they served us a Barbie and then the kids just hung out relaxing all evening. I took a long walk on a nature trail and then walked through the village where there was a little school. I saw an artist’s home studio that was a dream. The full size window faced the snow-capped mountains!! It had beautiful gardens all the way around it. Someone puts a lot of love in that place.