Dear all
We still had to drive the final 120km + to Fox, so our first stop along the SH6 was Knights Point, named after a surveyors dog! This was the final construction phase along this route which basically allowed Fox to become a real tourist destination. The waters around here are very deep and equally stormy and with the endless rain, made very hard conditions for the works. However I'm glad they finished it as it makes a fantastic coastal scenic route that provides vital incomes to so many small towns around the region. Just up the road Moeraki Lake is very black and full of fish - quite different to many of the other lakes of the region. We did get out and have a look around, but the sandflies were still quite voracious so it tends to dampen your enthusiasm for walking, but not so much that when we got to Fox Glacier we didn't attempt two walks. Our first one was around Lake Matheson about 6km south of the little town along the Cook Flats. Despite our fervent wishes the clouds had been rolling in all day across Mt Tasman & Mt Cooks so we didn't have the opportunity to see the famous reflections of these mountains in the lake itself, which makes this place so photogenic and the shots used on every concievable surface from biscuit tins, stamps to beer bottle labels. 
Today was all about glaciers and as we set off from Hasst we also kew that it was quite likely that we were not going to see a repeat of the weather from last week. The glaciers are predominantly here because of all the endless rain that this region is famous for or infamous! Both glaciers move at around 10 times faster than any of the Swiss Alps glaciers and that what we hoped would make for some dramatic views.
We still had to drive the final 120km + to Fox, so our first stop along the SH6 was Knights Point, named after a surveyors dog! This was the final construction phase along this route which basically allowed Fox to become a real tourist destination. The waters around here are very deep and equally stormy and with the endless rain, made very hard conditions for the works. However I'm glad they finished it as it makes a fantastic coastal scenic route that provides vital incomes to so many small towns around the region. Just up the road Moeraki Lake is very black and full of fish - quite different to many of the other lakes of the region. We did get out and have a look around, but the sandflies were still quite voracious so it tends to dampen your enthusiasm for walking, but not so much that when we got to Fox Glacier we didn't attempt two walks. Our first one was around Lake Matheson about 6km south of the little town along the Cook Flats. Despite our fervent wishes the clouds had been rolling in all day across Mt Tasman & Mt Cooks so we didn't have the opportunity to see the famous reflections of these mountains in the lake itself, which makes this place so photogenic and the shots used on every concievable surface from biscuit tins, stamps to beer bottle labels. It was however a lovely walk and well worth the hours effort in the drizzle. Just the other side of town is the glacier itself which you can walk to - well nearly up to as your are barred from the last 80m to keep you safe from falling rocks and ice at the ablation zone (the bottom to you!) as the glacier melts in the summer sun!! LOL. It is impressive by anyones reckoning and given that the ice here probably fell at the summit some 8-9 years agoand was pretty blue a pretty fast (in glacial terms!) beast.
So despite the rain we were still wowed and set off happily to Franz Josef for our next icy adventure tomorrow.
Nite all
Sara
PS Dean is happily snuggled in the campsite TV room watching the opening game of the cricket world cup - India v Bangladesh. I worry that this may be a trend setting event!
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