we have had an adventurous couple of days! We took a helicopter ride first thing yesterday morning. I have never been in a helicopter before. What an experience! It was such a rush to travel at such an incredible speed and rise so quickly in the air. The views of the mountains and the water from such a height were absolutely spectacular. I think I am destined to never see a whale though. We toured around for a while in search of whales (apparently sperm whales surface every 40-45 minutes so they can predict, through the use of a GPS, how soon another one will surface) but couldn't find any. We saw TONS of dolphins though! They travel in large pods. They seemed to be having such a great time jumping out of the water.
From the helicopter ride, we left Kaikoura to take the Lewis Pass to Punakaiki, where pancake rocks can be seen. Scientists still don't know what caused the rocks to look like this. I am not too curious to figure out why...we just liked to look at them and marvel at their beauty. From Punakaiki, we headed south to where we are now, Franz Josef, to marvel at the beauty of the Franz Josef glacier. For the first little while when we arrived here, all we could see was the glacier, which looks like a strip of snow that couldn't quite make it down the hill. After a while, the clouds cleared and we could see the mountains in the back. What a beautiful sight! At one point we came across a pool where the glacier, mountains and clouds were reflecting in it to make a perfect mirror image. That'll definitely get printed up to decorate the new house with!
So, here we are now in Franz Josef...we will likely head out to see the Fox Glacier tomorrow, and then head south to Queenstown, the adventure capital. Unfortunately we may have to skip Milford Sound because we are short on time, but we'll cram in as much as we can.
Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure. From left to right: a photo of Kaikoura from inside the helicopter; Jason with the mountains and helicopter after the flight; rocks on the way to Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks; an example of the beauty and destruction of nature (scientists think that the pancake rocks are formed by aquatic sedementation, followed by uplift, followed by erosion); us with the glacier in the back; me showing that it is indeed a mirror image; and finally the glacier by itself. 
We hope you're doing well...drop us a comment or two! We love to read them. They give us motivation to post more messages :)
3 comments:
Hey guys!
NZ really looks awesome! I hope you know how lucky you are to be traveling this way and riding a helicopter over such beautiful landscapes!! I'm jealous ;-)
Have fun and keep posting messages and photos!
Take care
Well Michelle it sure sounds like you are both having fun. Great photos and I'm glad you are taking the time to let us all know about your trip.
Horse is well (Phyl) and I'm off to try Adagio on Fri. Wish me luck
Linda
You'll need a bigger house to display all your beautiful pictures. The glacier is awesome!! You're both looking well!
Keep the blogs coming :)
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