We all enjoyed a sleep in this morning but still had a crazy time getting packed up and ready to check out.

The accommodation had a local attractions channel which had given us some ideas for this morning, so our first stop was the town centre. Mountain Jade was just one of several stores which sells the jade or green stone so popular in New Zealand. There were masses of beautiful items carved from the stone – lots of jewellery, some traditional Maori weapons, as well as sculptures and figurines. The next stop was Sock World! This was advertised as a sock museum and they did have a couple of dozen old fashioned sock knitting machines. It wasn’t quite as interesting as we had hoped, but Liam did get a pair of merino/possum fingerless gloves which he really wanted. There was also a glass shop and luckily there was a glassblower working, even though it was Sunday.

Moving on from the town centre, we drove about 30 minutes out of town to Hokitika Gorge. There was a short walk through the forest to the view point over the amazing turquoise river. The information sign explained the water colour came from rock flour and the minerals from the glacial water, mixing with the river water. It was certainly very different from the usual river water, with quite a milky turquoise hue. A bit further on there was yet another suspension bridge across the river and then a spot to get close to the water. There were no takers for a swim as although the morning had started quite nicely warm, the clouds had rolled in and it started spitting while we were walking at the gorge.

Back in the car for about an hour and a half down the road to Franz Josef Glacier and the little village by the same name. This time the walk was quite a bit longer (almost 8km) and the weather a bit worse. The trek through the forest and up the gorge floor was worth it though – to the adults at least! The glacier up close (well, still almost a kilometre away) was majestic. The turquoise blue seemed almost translucent. We sat for a while absorbing the splendour. The cloud had started moving down over the tops of the mountains and the top of the glacier, and we are hoping that by going to see Fox Glacier tomorrow morning, we will get some clear weather and therefore better views.

We are in Fox Glacier village now at our accommodation for the next two days. Thankfully only 30 minutes south of Franz Josef as it was after 5.30 by the time we finished the glacier walk. We checked in and walked the block to the far end of town to Cook Saddle Café and Saloon and had a delicious, much needed dinner. Now back to crash after another big day with some big walks.