Thursday, March 23rd, Christchurch to Franz Josef...

With John now driving the coach and being the guide, we were ready to get to the train station in Christchurch. From there we boarded the train to Arthur's Pass. This would take us through what might be called the plains area of the South Island. Lots of farms, sheep and cattle ranches. This area was called the Canterbury Plains. John would go on with the coach and meet us at Arthur's Pass.

This is a bit of the graffiti we saw on lots of buildings, box cars, etc.

The interior of our car on the train. 

One thing of note were the hedge rows. These could be pine trees or other tall trees or they might be bushes. The tend to be kept neat and trimmed. The are boarders for fields but they ae also windbreaks.

Lumber is a big export from New Zealand. They plant pine trees and 25 years later they are harvested and new trees are planted in their stead. Reminded me of what we saw in South Africa. These trees are all hand planted, one tree at the time, on the sides of mountains. They are cut into logs and shipped away.

Braided rivers are the thing in New Zealand. A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars. Extensive braided river systems are found in Alaska, Canada, New Zealand's South Island, and the Himalayas. This will explain the riverbeds in these and following pictures of rivers. 

This is a logging operation. All of this mountain will be planted with young pine trees to grow for 25 years. 

At Arthur's Pass we left the train and boarded our coach for the drive to Franz Josef. 

Cows are interesting creatures. This is a line of dairy cows heading back to be milked. 

First time seeing the Tasman Sea. Most of this drive we had mountains on the left side of the coach as it headed south and the Tasman Sea on the right side of the coach. 

We drive into the mountains a bit to walk to the Franz Josef Glacier. This area has two glaciers. This is fascinating. The Tasman Sea is close. Then a rain forest bush area. Then you have a glacier. Very diverse topography.

I took pictures on the walk back. At one point I looked backwards where you get your first peek of the glacier when walking to it. 

Back on the bus for the drive on to Franz Josef, the city. This is the riverbed caused by the retreating glacier.

Our hotel in Franz Josef was the Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier. It was a green hotel, meaning it was ecologically responsible. We could have easily stayed here several days. 

We checked in and then walked into the little, tiny town to find a place to eat. Dinner at the hotel was over $100 New Zealand dollars per person. One New Zealand dollar equals 63 cents in US money. We decided to eat at the Snake Bite Brewery. They had tables outside. McKenna joined us and we treated her to dinner to cover the cost of the Uber in Wellington. It was a great meal with an Asian flare.

Our hotel has glowworms nestled in the group of trees that overhang a walkway. After dinner we walked back there to see if we could find them. It was not dark enough yet to see any. We opted to go on to our room and get a good night's rest.