11-19-16

 We made it to the west side of the island & it's WET over here!

We woke up on 11/12 with the plan to take a helicopter ride to the top of Franz Joseph Glacier. It included a guided hike through some glacier ice tunnels.

We were excited about the heli-tour but due to low clouds the adventure was canceled. :-( 

Instead Bob & I did a rainforest trek to see the bottom of the glacier.

We saw a pretty little lake along the way.

And then we got a glimpse of Franz Joseph Glacier. You can see the sun lighting up the unique powder blue ice in the distance!

This is the closest we could get before the safety barriers stopped us. It was pretty cool to see the glacier from this angle (maybe next time we'll get to the top).

Glacier Selfie.

Moss abounds when it rains a lot.

So do waterfalls!

Happy Rain Forest = 50 Shades of Green. ;-)

This is a Silver Fern...

It's the signature New Zealand plant seen in gift shops on t-shirts, art work & souvenir knick-knacks. 

Here's an example of how well those ferns grow around there.

Reminds me so much of Arizona (NOT)!

But this cow did remind me of Iowa!

Tomorrow we'll be on the MOO-ve again. Leaving Franz Joseph to drive up the coast a bit & then head East over Arthur's Pass.