Mom and dad's visit continues...

West Coast
From Wanaka, we headed up the West Coast - which was exciting as Jessie and I hadn't ventured up that way yet. The West Coast is known for having LOTS of rain and kinda crazy weather - as a result, it was very lush and looked more like a rain forest than anything else we had seen so far.

Our first stop on the West Coast was Fox Glacier. We did a guided hike onto the glacier and it was AWESOME! Our guide, Rodger, was a genius and was so interesting to listen to - he knows EVERYTHING there is to know about glaciers! I think Jessie is in love. He is only 40 years older than her - age, smage.

We had to put crampons onto our boots before you get on the glacier and watching dad try to figure out how to put them on was classic and even better was him attempting to walk on the ice. Luckily, he lived to tell about it and I think he and mom really enjoyed it. I mean, how often do you get to walk around on a glacier?! One neat thing about this particular glacier is that it is only one of two glaciers in the world that is surrounded by rain forest. The other one is in Patagonia...guess I am just gonna have to go check that one out to say I have seen both...

After the hike, we drove farther up the coast almost to Westport. We stopped to see the "Pancake Rocks" - the pancake rocks are literally these huge rock formations that look like a bunch of thin rocks stacked on top of one another like a stack of pancakes! And the coolest part is - there are lots of scientific theories as to why that are that way - but for the most part it remains a mystery! There were also some really fabulous views of the beaches and Tasman Sea - soooooo pretty!! NZ is a wonderland.

Abel Tasman
Next stop on the agenda was Abel Tasman Natl Park - which is on the northwest coast of the Island. Abel Tasman is known for it's crystal clear water and golden beaches and it did not disappoint - it looks like a postcard!

We sea kayaked the first day. I thought dad might kill me for getting him to do it...he had the fear of God in his eyes when the lady showed us how to get out of the kayak in case we flipped :) Fortunately, none of us went for a swim that day! It was SO beautiful out on the water!! Mom really enjoyed it - think we need to buy that woman a kayak! Then you just park your kayak on the beach and the kayak company comes to get it and you hike on the track or take a water taxi to your next destination in the park. We took the taxi to Awaroa Beach where we stayed for two nights. It's on the far north of the park - which means it's more secluded than the more southern beaches and it was glorious!!! It was like a paradise!

The 2nd day, we hiked north from Awaroa. The most fun part was crossing Awaroa Inlet. You have to cross 2 hours either side of low tide and we were running a little behind schedule soo we had to ford a few "streams" - dad was an expert at this!! hahaha. Lawyers don't do too much fording of rivers evidently...:) Then we spent the rest of the afternoon - at Jess' request - sitting in the sun reading - it was fantastic!!

The 3rd and final day in Abel Tasman, we hiked south to Bark's Bay. It is such a cool experience to be hiking in the "bush" - in tree cover, in the mountains and look out and see the blue sea and golden sands!! Abel Tasman is one of the prettiest places I have EVER laid eyes on - a definite favorite!!

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