The West Coast
Beach, rainforest and glaciers
We leave Wanaka and head to the west coast, via Haast. We lunch at a beach called Ship's Wreck. Nice waves, but the shorebreak is very strong and the undertow pulls you right off your feet, so no swimming today.
I guess we're really ocean people, it's great to be back at the beach, after crossing the country from east to west. After our trip in Doubtful Sound we are getting used to the sandflies, so we cover our ankles and ignore the little buggers. We're silently amused by a scene that repeats itsself several times: People walk up onto the empty beach, towel hanging over their shoulders. They start undressing to prepare for a nice swim, but invariably, after twenty seconds you see them swinging with their arms at the sandflies attacking them. So they pick up their towels and leave the place.
We drive to Fox Glacier and take the unsealed road leading to Gillespies beach. From there we see the ocean, a deserted beach, rainforest and Fox Glacier, all in one view. It's quite spectacular (we even see a group of Keas).
We camp on a deserted bit of farmland, with a front row view of Fox Glacier.
