Mel- we don't have Indonesian food here either, but are heading to Amsterdam in a few weeks and looking forward to trying the rijkstaffel!

dmjapril-
We were surprised at the speed of the walk, and there are a lot of climbing ups and downs. There was a fast group and a slow group though-- we were in the fast group. If you aren't as comfortable then you could go in the slower group which took a little more time but still saw almost as much as we did.
Liz

dmjapril -

FYI - we took the helihike out of Fox Glacier with Alpine Guides a few years back and we thought it was really tame - hardly any "hiking" at all. More like poking around on the ice.

Either the Franz Josef hike is just more difficult, or ours was limited due to the people in our group. The tour guide would only go as fast as the slowest person.

What a great trip report. Thanks for posting. It brings back such wonderful memories of my trip last year. I realize how lucky I was to have had such great weather.
I have a friend who was there this year at the same time as you, and she endured the same wet weather as you did. SO sorry it wasn't better for you.
You'll just have to go back to do the Doubtful Sound cruise!

I, too, really recommend the Elm Wildlife tour out of Dunedin. The penguins were a real highlight of my trip.

HOpe the jet lag is over for you!

hi Tim and Liz,
Just out of curiousity, what date did you do the Elm Wildlife tour? Do you remember? I was talking to my friend that was on her trip the same time as you, and her cruise on the Doubtful Sound was the first one to go out after the washout. Then she went to Dunedin for the wildlife tour. I thought it would be funny if you were actually on the same tour.

Hi kodi,
It was Friday the 13th. There were three tours running. We only had a Dutch couple and a family from Vancouver with us--we were in the smaller van.
We did have a lot of wet weather, but we had gorgeous, clear sunny days too! We can't wait to go back.
Liz

Oh, I guess you weren't on the same tour. But certainly around the same time. I know my friend had lots of rain, but had a wonderful time in spite of it. Isn't it great? It's been a year since I've been there, but continually think of it. I always said there are too many places on my 'list' to return anywhere til my list is done, but I really do want to go back to NZ. Especially after hearing all about my friend's trip and after reading your wonderful trip report. Ahhh, the memories.

Hi, Tim and Liz
We must have been ahead of you by a couple or so days. We were lucky enough to have our Doubtful Sound day cruise on the Saturday before the washout on Wilmot Pass. Our DS cruise was in rain, and while it was disappointing not to see wildlife, etc, we did see some amazing waterfalls, and take some awesome photos. Mind you ,we were not lucky with the weather this year, either! Of the 20 days on the South Island 7 were wet - most unusual occurence at this time of the year.
It was just coming right when we had to return to Wellington earlier than planned. I guess that is Murphy's or Sod's Law!
We enjoyed a trip to the Okarito reserve to see the White Heron and Royal Spoonbill nesting sites - my first-ever trip on a jet boat - and were lucky enough to be the only group that day who had dry weather. (Thanks, Kodi, for your recommendation from your last year's trip.) We also managed to walk around Lake Matheson the next day in fine weather, which turned to rain as we drove into the Haast Village for a coffee break!

DOTTY, HI !!!! HOw are you?
I'm so glad you got to go on the Doubtful Sound cruise, but sorry it rained on you. You must have been just a few days ahead of my friend.

And I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed seeing the white herons. Wasn't that an awesome tour? I loved the jet boat ride, the walk through the forest and the birds themselves.

I'll drop you an email.