Glaciers and Hams ...... chips for pudding !!

Next morning the rain had eased off so we drove the 5km’s to the car park of the Franz Josef Glacier.

A 40 minute walk later and the huge icy glacier was looming closer. We walked as close as could, this meant crossing a wide stream. Mum couldn’t manage the stepping stones, so off came the shoes and socks and she waded through the glacier water!! We got quite close, though it was roped off, you could get closer with a guide. The glacier is huge and the ice has a really blue colour to it, we’d never seen anything like it!

We had a walk around the town of Franz Josef and had a drink at the cafe before heading onwards. Next stop was Greymouth.

We stopped off at a place called Ross and had a brew at the Roddy Nugget Cafe, then we popped next door to a pottery. The Hines Seniors bought a tea pot, getting a photo of the lady who made it.

We then drove onto Hokitika and booked our accommodation for Greymouth.

We stayed at the Charles Court Motel and were recommended to go to Ham’s Bar for tea ......... oh boy, mmmmmmm, mmmmmmm !! It was really good and cheap. We met the delightful Bernie and had a damn good feed. The 30 minutes’ walk home was well deserved after the main and huge pudding we’d all eaten.