Dry East coast to Wet West Coast

Though we woke to a bit of a mist at Curio Bay the further inland we got the harder the rain. Just before Invercargill the Rain was lashing and the crosswinds ferocious. Great fun to drive a camper in:( We pressed on and made a stop in Invercargill for me to look at bike and outdoors shops and then for a coffee and breakfast sandwich, though it was nearly midday. Out of there the roads were mostly straight and quiet with views in front and behind often exactly the same. The closer to the West and Te Anau we got the twistier the roads got but no less rain. We stopped for camping info and then pressed on the the Fjords of Milford Sound. The drive into the hills and then the great divide that separate the island was amazing especially as it was raining creating many fast flowing waterfalls. There must be some amazing kayaking here too as the rivers were pumping with water. With Sarah now driving I was left to enjoy the view as she drove in near terror through a crazy long mountain tunnel and through the switchbacks down the west side. As we crossed the divide it got very wet and you could tell by the plants and trees that it was now a temperate rain forest much like home to me. Pulling in a bit late we found a nice powered site to charge up our batteries and have some dinner before heading into town and the pub. In the pub was a mix of 70% workers and the rest tourists but a good atmosphere and cheap jugs. A pub quiz was starting soon and we put our name into the hat and after lots of laughs and a bum(rear end) race, video to follow, we finished 4th. Not too shabby. On our way back to the camper we took some advice and popped our head into a small roadside cave that was the home to at least 50 glowworms. All that we could see were their behinds that glowed like a small blue led light. Really neat to see.

Late night out to early morning rise we set off on a 8:55am 2hour boat tour of the sounds. Pictures will follow and that will explain a lot but it was beautiful. We both took loads of photos but still need to sift though the good a bad ones. Again back to the camper and off on another adventure.