• As we started our drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef, we had this view of Arrowtown from Crown Range Road.

• We stopped in the town of Wanaka on the shore of beautiful Lake Wanaka for a break.

• Lake Wanaka is New Zealand's fourth largest lake.

• A mama and ducklings at Lake Wanaka

• Beautiful stone and metal work was common, including at public restrooms.

• A view of Lake Wanaka from the Boundary Creek Scenic Reserve

• Cabbage Tree, a native to New Zealand. We now know the name of the trees in our front yard in Sunnyvale, CA (that we removed).

• Looking across Lake Wanaka toward Mt Aspiring National Park

• Sheep, braided river, and mountains

• Thunder Creek Falls

• The Haast River at Thunder Creek Falls. Note the cairns in the foreground built by visitors to the falls.

• A fern near Thunder Creek Falls

• Detail of the fern

• Queueing up to use the loo. Thank goodness a large tour bus didn't arrive just ahead of us.

• A typical river flowing into the Tasman Sea from the southwest coast of New Zealand

• Our lunch stop

• Salmon Farm

• Doug had the salmon chowder and it was delicious.

• The salmon pens

• Some of the larger salmon

• Barrel bench

• Margaret and Kathryn enjoying one of the 'barrel benches'

• A 'foot shot' in the parking lot of the Salmon Farm

• Another river flowing toward the Tasman Sea

• Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier

• Our room was in this wing.

• The Moa were very large flightless birds hunted to extinction by the Maori.

• A view from our hotel

• A view from our hotel

• Franz Josef Glacier

• Franz Josef Glacier

• Franz Josef Glacier

• Franz Josef Glacier

• Franz Josef Glacier

• A coastal lake along the drive north to Greymouth

• Hari Hari was the landing site of Guy Menzies on the first-ever air crossing of the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand.

• Another river flowing toward the Tasman Sea

• Hokitika is a pretty little coastal town with quite an emphasis on the sale of New Zealand jade. This jade is called Pounamu by the Maori and was highly valued for making tools and weapons. The southwest coast of the South Island has great deposits of this stone.

• Art Deco architecture in Hokitika

• A Carnegie Library that is now the Hokitika Museum

• A sculpture commemorating the women at the heart of the community

• The beach at Hokitika

• A 'foot shot' showing one of a number of jade pavers used in the sidewalks

• A mural near the train station in Greymouth

• Ian 'Let's be ready to leave at 9-ish' Wooster was our guide on the South Island. He is knowledgable, articulate and taught us much about his homeland. His wonderful sense of humor kept us laughing. He is an outstanding guide.

• According to Ian, it is 1:30-ish at the Greymouth Train Station where we were waiting to board the TranzAlpine Train for a scenic ride to Christchurch.

• Ian and Kathryn having a laugh

• Train station detail

• Our train arrives

• The train stopped at Arthur's Pass to pick up passengers who had traveled from Christchurch in the morning and were traveling back to Christchurch in the afternoon. The most scenic part of the trip is between Christchurch and Arthur's Pass.

• The locomotives at Arthur's Pass

• The train and Arthur's Pass station

• Back on the rails

• The observation car was open so that photographers did not have to shoot through windows.

• Along this ride, as well as throughout much of New Zealand, invasive Scottish Broom and Scottish Gorse run rampant.

• Lancewood outside our wing of the Copthorne Commodore Hotel in Christchurch. The hotel was located near the airport. Due to our early departure the next day, we did not have time to explore Christchurch.

• The Southern Alps from our Air New Zealand flight to Sydney

• The Southern Alps from our Air New Zealand flight to Sydney

• The Southern Alps from our Air New Zealand flight to Sydney

• The Southern Alps from our Air New Zealand flight to Sydney

• The Southern Alps from our Air New Zealand flight to Sydney