Long time no blog

Hi there, sorry for having not been in touch for a while. Been a bit busy and if you make the effort to check in regularly, I apologise.

Hopefully these pictures of our recent mini break to the West Coast will make up for nothing new for a while.

We had such the best time on our holiday. While the weather was murky and snowy on the east coast, we experienced the best winter weather you could ever imagine. Reminded me of some of the best days I have ever had on the ski field. It was obvious that although Jonty has whooping cough and is in a low state, he was energised and a peace in the mountains. I know he didn't want to come home.We loved the adventure of traversing the Southern Alps in the snow and ice as intrepid travellers. Once on the other side we sped off to Fox Glacier where we stayed for a couple of nights. We made the most of the sun and got going early in the morning and headed up to the Fox Glacier and then headed north again to the Franz Joseph Glacier. You can't fathom the size of these ice rivers until you are right there. And the colour, if it could be put on a palate, would be a best seller. We also headed to Gillespies Beach to experience the wonders of building sand castles with the Southern Alps as your back drop. Lovely beyond words. Along the way the next morning we came across lovely lakes

Mapourika and Ianthe and took a detour to Okarito Lagoon. So still and gorgeous.
We wandered up to Greymouth were it was frigidly cold but sunny as anything. Nice to have a playground for Nic to play in/on. We had a fabulous jolly night with friends John and Angela drinking to much red wine and eating meatballs.

The following morning we went in search of the Pike River Coal mine and came very close until we hit the barrier gate...not literally. We then headed to Jackson's via Lake Brunner and the Arnold River power station. We had a great mystery scenic walk which proved to be the first time we recognised Nic being excited about walking and not one complaint about tired legs. What a difference 6 months can make on capacity. Yay Nic. We stopped atop the Otira Pass for a bit of snow throw and headed home.

We can highly recommend a sunny winter holiday to blow the cobwebs away. I hope you enjoy the photos.