Farewell NZ.

After our day on the ice at Fox Glacier we headed further north (but still in the South Island) and paid a visit to Abel Tasman National Park. The national park runs along a beautiful stretch of coastline so we got a water taxi out  and walked back 15km through the trees and beaches that make up the Abel Tasman. It was incredibly picturesque.

After Abel Tasman, we had a few days of solid driving to make our way back up the North Island, where our first real destination was the Waitomo Caves. Their claim to fame is the glowworm colony that lives in one of the chambers of the cave. They were so cool. As we drifted underneath in a little boat in total darkness and silence it was like looking up at a night sky that was filled with more stars than imaginable. It was just amazing. Unfortunately there's no photos allowed because it dims the glowworms' lights and that's how they catch food.

We went to the Ruakuri cave there too. It's better known for the cave formations there and they were fantastic.

s

Then we drove cross country all the way over to Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula. They have this beach there called Hot Water Beach and it lives up to it's name. When the tide is out you can access hot water from the springs on the beach by digging your own little pool. I swear the water was roasting. A rush of cold water from an incoming wave was more than welcome.

While we were in the area we called out to see Pam and Tony (we met them in Fiji) and they brought us on a tour of their farm. We whizzed around on these cool little 4WD's.

It was interesting to see an operating farm and how they do things there. Because the farming industry is so big in New Zealand we felt it gave us a bit more insight into the country and they way of life for so many Kiwi's.

From there we headed back to Auckland to finish up our loop of NZ. Haven't done too much sightseeing here just a bit of last minute souvenir shopping.

Tomorrow it's on to South America, which is kind of like the 3rd and final leg of our adventure!
Can't wait to see what it brings,
Jan and Paul