Mountains, sea, glaciers and kiwis

 It is a long drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef, about 5 hours. But to be honest it didn't feel like it. The scenery just takes your breath away. When we left the mountains, we got to the west coast, which is just as stunning.

When we arrived at Franz Josef we dropped off our bags then went for a walk up to the glacier.  It is odd walking in a warm sunny evening towards a large sheet of ice. For LOTR fans, this is where they filmed the beacon lighting scene. 

After our hike, we relaxed in some hot springs, which I must say were very welcome, just like a hot bath, but with your bathers on ( see I am learning the lingo ). After yet another first class meal, we collapsed in a heap at our rather luxurious B&B.

Before we left the next morning we went to visit a couple of kiwis. They are so cute. Unfortunately the stoats and possums which were introduced by Europeans are doing their best to wipe out these flightless birds. Although to be fair the Maori brought rats and dogs to the islands. ( all mammals in NZ have been introduced by man! ) Anyway there are 5 species of kiwi. They can live for 50 to 70 years. They grow to over 1kg and if they can make it to this size they stand a good chance of surviving a stoat attack. They are monogamous and won't start breeding until 4 to 5 years old. They lay 1 to 4 eggs a year and the male does most of the incubation. And the eggs are 250-500g! There is a very clever scheme now running called BNZ Operation Nest Egg. You can read about it here. 

http://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/how-were-saving-kiwi/bnz-operation-nest-egg/

As you can tell, I was rather smitten with the little beauties. Unfortunately the cuddly toys they have of them are not as cute as the real thing.