Australia 2016, Day 8 - Fiordland or Bust

August 14, 2016

After a fabulous night's sleep we arose, packed up, went to a nice little coffee shop for breakfast and rode up to the Franz Josef glacier. Knowing we had a full day of driving ahead of us we took a 90 minute return trip to get to the viewing area which we did while admiring the beautiful countryside. The rocks there were beautiful- many were covered in orange and green moss, while others were layered as if they were part of a torte cake, while still others sparkled and glittered in the sun light. The weather was chilly with partially cloudy skies and a threat of rain while we were walking to the glacier. By the end of the hike - the rain had moved in so we moved out!

After the glacier, we started to drive towards Fiordland National Park. It started to rain, so that put a small damper on the day but not too badly. After a few hours we stopped for lunch in the town of Haast.  Our options were minimal - but Kayleigh and Jen had their hearts set on a soup and toastie to make up for the cold gloomy gray day it ended up being.  Lunch was at the Hard Antler Jen had a cheese toastie with french onion soup, Kayleigh had a beef burger and Mark had the fish and chips.  Everything was quite yummy.  If anyone finds themselves in Haast, New Zealand do stop by for some great food and fabulous hosts. Jen & Kayleigh did a second small hike to some blue pools in Mount Aspiring National Park as we were driving through. We drove above the tree-line and past ski resorts that were open and busy.

We arrived at our destination of Te Anau late in the day and went to the Ranch Steakhouse for dinner (Jen would like to point out Ashton Kutcher was nowhere to be seen). It was good for being #9 on Trip Advisors list of 20-some restaurants in Te Anau. Many others were closed since it's their slow season. Our motel, the lakefront lodge was comfortable but dated. We hopped into bed in anticipation of the day ahead at Fiordland.