And Then There Were Two (January 10)

We’d been trying to figure out the best way to see the glacier and it became pretty clear that a helicopter was it.  Julia and I let Rachel sleep (she hadn’t been feeling well).  We went about 10 minutes out to a beautiful Terrace Walk and came back to figure out if we could get on a helicopter.  They had one available at 9:30 am which was earlier than I wanted but given the clear skies and the clouds scheduled for later (which would cancel the trips) we decided to go for it.  Rachel tested negative for Covid and was able to rally for the moment.

We took a van to the helicopter pad and went up to see Franz Josef Glacier (which has receded a kilometer in the past 10 years or so) and then crossed over the mountains (west to east) to see the second glacier. We landed on the snowpack high up in the mountains (not on the glaciers) and the views all around were just magnificent.  Julia and Rachel got to sit in the front on the way back down! 

We started to drive south with some suggestions from the helicopter people of places to see. At  Lake Matheson, we went on a 45-minute return trip out to see the lake. Luckily we saw the mountains when we arrived because by the time we got to the lake the tops were obscured by clouds.

Before our walk

After our walk (total cloud cover)

We continued on to Salmon Farm — 15 minutes before we arrived, we decided it was best to test Rachel for Covid one more time. She felt pretty sure it was “just a cold” but the test said otherwise in less than a minute. It was such a bummer to have rolling Covid in the car, but at least Jim got himself a partner. When we arrived at the Salmon Farm, Julia and I decided to test too, both half-hoping we’d test positive so we could just be a family cocoon, but we were still negative. Julia’s theory is that she and I had it already earlier in the week (but not tested positive) when we both felt a little off and had sore throats. But, I’m not sure about that. We decided to continue on with our trip since we are mainly seeing outdoor sights and Rachel is staying masked. Seeing four people driving together in a car masked, people must know the car is infected!  The salmon farm wasn’t particularly interesting but I could have been more distracted by feeling badly that Rachel was staying so far away from us. 

The next stop at Fantail Falls was so pretty! And, a great spot for skipping rocks. We finally put on our Tevas we bought for this trip and had a blast.

The road south (the only road) was closed just as we got to the parking lot for the Blue Pools.  We learned there had been a pretty major wreck earlier in the day (scary) but it was good timing for us to head out on a 3 km walk through lovely jungle to some pretty water. By the time we got back to the car, the road was reopened. I was so inspired by the beauty all around, I wrote a little song: Summer in New Zealand.  Those are the only lyrics I remember but it has a catchy tune. ...Keeps you Guessing?

The final hour to Wanaka took us to some amazing lakes rimmed by majestic mountains.  We talked about writing a musical including “Can you see it Mama”. We drove the final hour past amazing lakes rimmed by majestic mountains. 

We gave Jim and Rachel the nice family room we had reserved and got a different room for me and Julia at a (much worse) motel across the street. She and I went and picked up pizza and delivered it to Jim and Rachel. We also dropped off some yogurt and berries for the morning.

We both watched the Murderville Christmas special while we ate our pizza in our respective hotel rooms, read, and fell asleep.