Left Franz Josef in the rain and traveled over the Haast Pass enjoying the Southern Alps. Stopped along the way to travel down the river in an enclosed river jet boat.

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We sure were glad the boat was enclosed since the rain kept starting and stopping. This valley is awesome during the rain with mist shrouding the jurassic forest.

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The waterfalls were in full flow today. We were told that they dry up in about 5 hours after the rain stops. I guess this is one day we can be thankful there has been rain.

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Our driver guide talked about the physical attributes of this glacial valley where the temperate rainforest survives. This is considered one of New Zealand's last frontiers. It's amazing how many places we stopped where the water was pure enough to drink - Bob was thirsty enough to lay down on the wet ground - way to go Bob!

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It seemed so strange seeing fields of deer. In this area, they are raised for meat. They have been bred here for that purpose and the deer don't even know they could jump the fence and escape if they wanted!

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Sheep and deer where ever you look! Al has been loving eating lamb shank, one of his favorite dishes.

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Beautiful Lake Wanaka is the largest lake in New Zealand.

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After lunch we got to enjoy some time by Lake Hawea.

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Continuing on toward Queenstown we drove through Kawarau Gorge. According to stories Jules told us, this was gold country.

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This little church in the historic gold town of Arrowtown has quite a story. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the stained glass window has the Star of David on it. The story goes that the wrong window was delivered when the church was being built but they used it anyway. I wonder where the synagogue with the cross is located?

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Queenstown is located on Lake Wakatipu, which I think is the third largest lake in the country. This area is a skiing mecca in the winter and in the summer a resort town. We found it a great place to wander.

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