Arthur's Pass, New Zealand

Weather: high of about 60ºF, low of about 40ºF and rainy



From Nelson, we drive to Westport in hopes of doing blackwater rafting.  From there, we planned to drive down the west coast, but diverted back east a bit to Arthur's Pass based on a recommendation from someone we met in Westport.

Our friend Eric recommended blackwater rafting.  That's where you dress up in wet suits, hike in the rain for twenty minutes up to a cave mouth.  Then the guide leads you through the caves down to an underground river.  From there you sit in an inner tube and float back to the starting point.
The wetsuits kept us pretty warm through the cold cave and the chilly water.  Even when we tubed through the rapids that were swelling from the rain.  Apparently the river rose a few inches in just a few minutes as we were tubing.  But the most exciting part was floating through the caves and seeing the glow worms on the cave walls.
Here are the pancake rocks in the rain.
I think of erosion as a generally subtle thing.  Not so here.
The drive up to Arthur's Pass was in heavy rain, but that just made all the waterfalls and streams more dramatic.












How to contact us:
    rfd@finninday.net
    jfd@finninday.net