Wilderness

to say we have traveled through the most remote of New Zealand wilderness over the past few days would not, i dont think, be too much of an exaggeration.

after my skydiving disappointment in queenstown we left on a gorgeous day (perfect for little hops out of high-flying aircraft....typical!) and headed towards franz josef....a glacier halfway up the west coast of NZ where, also typically, it was absolutely pouring. I had hoped to walk on the glacier itself....a 4.5 hour hike that would have taken me up the terminal face of the glacier, the part of the glacier that, scarily, tends to break off every now and then....strangely - perhaps due to remnant adrenaline from queenstown, that didn't worry me as much as the prospect of getting soaked. unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it...) the hike was booked out so we instead walked, dripping, to the public access point where we looked at ice and oohed and ahhhed appropriately before heading quickly back to our lovely boutique hotel and feasting in the dry and warm dining room on homemade pavlova...a much nicer, if not quite as dangerous, experience!

it does seem as though the gods of NZ weather are conspiring against me though. we left franz josef this morning on another gorgeous day which would have been perfect for glacier hiking....well, that, alongside jumping out of planes, will be experiences kept for the next time we are in the south island, which, if i have my way, will definitely not be in too distant a future....for, as we drove across Arthur's pass and the Alps which stretch across the centre of the island, I was again floored by the breathtaking beauty of this country....over the past few days i've fallen in love with the lakes, the sounds and the fjords....this time i fell in love with the mountains....wilderness indeed - i imagine there are sections of this part of NZ which are almost unaccessible by humans....the colours of the rock...the sheer ruggedness of the granite....forests which seem to go on for miles - untouched, i imagine, by a human's axe. True, pure wilderness....

But for now, we are back in civilization...in fact this afternoon I went shopping! and tomorrow we are experiencing 'antarctica' before getting on a plane bound for home sweet home......we will arrive in brisbane and embark on the familiar 2 hour drive to our home town, where my beautiful sister will have put together a delicious, warming, welcoming meal and her husband will have picked wines to match....i can't wait.

stay tuned. xx