Oct. 22nd

Since the last time I wrote, which happened to be our last day in Queenstown we have traveled quite a bit. That night we drove to Wanaka and stayed the night then continued on to Franz Joseph. The drive was beautiful with lots of hikes to do along the way. Unfortunately, we were only able to do a couple short hikes. Once we found a hostel in Franz Joseph we ate supper and waited for dark. That night we went for a night hike to find the Glow worms. The hike in the dark was better than the actual Glow worms but neat nonetheless. The next morning we drove down to the Franz Joseph Glacier and did some hikes around it be we were not allowed on the glacier since the rivers were changing directions and we were not with a guide. Then we drove to Greymouth and relaxed at the most amazing hostel before going on our Monteiths brewery tour. We got to taste all of their beer and pour a glass of our choice. The next day we drove to Nelson, which turned out to be a nice little beach city with amazing clear water. The following day we did some kayaking in the Abel Tasman Sea. Justin did the steering, which he admitted was farely easy and I did the navigating. We went through some pretty rough water but the sea kayak was pretty stable. Arrived in Picton late that night and stayed at a small, old fashioned YHA. Finally, caught our fairy to Wellington and drove that night to Taupo, where we are right now. Very nice geothermal town. Lots of hot pools around here.
Take Care,
Justin & Amanda