Chasing the New Year with Rain
It rained all night at Franz Josef Glacier. We checked out the weather forecast and it was going to be heavy rain all day. We decided to just hang out and try to wait it out. The normal checkout time was 10am, so we asked the manager if we could stay till 11 or 12, and he gave us the OK. He said as long as we left before his cleaning staff at 2pm, because he did not want to clean the room himself! We took advantage of the the hotel having a laundry room, and after I bothered the other guest for coins, I managed to find someone who had change for a NZ $20 bill. We started the laundry and walked to find breakfast in pouring rain. As we turned the corner we saw the big group of motorcyclists that we had met at the lunch two days earlier. They looked completely soaked, and I hoped their gear was more waterproof than it looked. We all waved in recognition, and Frank and I took shelter in a cafe for breakfast. We went back, finished laundry, and packed up. It was still only noon, and the rain was not letting up. We then went to the West Coast Wildlife Center to kill more time. They take injured animals, rehabilitate them and release them back out into he wild. We learned a lot about the different native Kiwi birds and their predators. I learned about the Stoat, which I had never heard of that before, but is very similar to a weasel. The stoat is the biggest threat/predator to the Kiwi bird. The center also had a big room that simulated night time, so we had a chance to see Kiwi birds up close in a pretend habitat. We were not allowed to take pictures, so unfortunately I have no way to prove that we saw the Kiwi Birds. We also met the Tuatara, not a lizard, but it sure looks like it. They are great at being completely still. For a long time. A really long time. I know, we waited for a really long time. Did I mention it was raining outside? After we had our fill of all things Kiwi, we decided to hit the road even though it was still raining. We had reservations in Haast, which we originally thought we would cancel because it was not that far down the road. But we were glad to have the stop in Haast so we would have a short drive in the rain. We were heading south and the rain was heading north, but it was really coming down, and we were in heavy rain for about two hours. We stopped by Fox Glacier, but decided against the 20 min walk as it was pouring. Finally, as we got closer to Haast the rain stopped and the sky cleared. We made a stop at the Salmon Farm and cafe, to take a stretch and snack break.[…]
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