Queenstown, NZ

Cheers my loved ones!
We have made our way to the far south of the South Island. It's an incredible journey, with such an array of natural wonders. Humbling, mind boggling, and daunting to try to put into words... penguins, seals, glaciers, a long way to travel without seeing much of civilization besides some tiny old gold mining ghost towns, long long almost arctic summer days (last night it was still light at 9:30!). The scenery is just stunning. I'm uploading a ridiculous amount of pictures right now... may be a bit much to try to sit through a slide show of them - it's about 700 or so. But we've seen some really good stuff & there are some beauties in there if I do say so myself. May I recommend viewing them in increments?

So, as for some of our adventures, here's something crazy:
I'm amazed at the similarity in feeling when approaching the glaciers here to the day we hiked to the lava flows on Mt. Kilauea. Although almost opposite in ways, there was with both an overwhelming timeless essence & the eery excitement of wanting to get closer but knowing how very dangerous that could be. And with both, we witnessed a wild display of the grandeur. In the case of Fox Glacier, we approached at the base, which is clearly a dynamic place, as it is pushing boulders slowly along as they randomly fall, and melting into a roaring river, with huge chunks of ice looking like they'll break off at any moment. At one such moment we were down by the river when we heard a huge crack, large amounts of ice falling, & a giant splash at the top of the river... a minute later, Brian noticed the river shrinking - it was dammed up from the ice falling until a few minutes later when it broke loose and we got to see what a glacial flash flood looks like! crazy. bobbing bouncing boulders of ice. there's a video in amongst all our pictures.. also some time lapse photos of the change in the width and action of the river. it was amazing!

And as for the little things in life:
If anyone ever thought mosquitos were annoying, well you ain't seen nothing. I have found my nemesis & it goes by the name of sandflies. They are seemingly everywhere, particularly in the most beautiful of spots where one may like to sit quietly, read, do a little yoga, or whatnot... but oh, how they can quickly change the mood of any setting from lovely, dreamy, & gorgeous to let's get the heck out of this horrid place! They certainly keep you on your toes, moving at all times, and there's a certain characteristic dance we've developed, sometimes waving small branches with a little foliage to swat them away... arg.

Here'a a link to the ridiculous amount of photos, too many for a slideshow.

As for what's next, Milford & Doubtful Sounds, we're working on arranging a kayak-camping trip, Mt. Cook, visiting friends of friends' parents for a fishing excursion, fjordland, and hopefully many more penguins & seals. Brian's really hoping for some orcas, too.
Wish you were here.