There’s a glacier out there somewhere

230km Greymouth to Fox Glacier

DSC_7286We’re sitting in the kitchen of a campground, watching the rain pour down again. You wouldn’t know it from looking out the window but somewhere out there, beyond the soggy tent sites, there’s a mountain and a beautiful glacier.

Still, we can’t complain too much about the rain. Despite a weather forecast that predicted 3 straight days of wet weather leaving Greymouth, we struck it lucky and barely saw a single drop until the heavens opened this morning. We even had one absolutely gorgeous day, which we celebrated with a continuing feast. First freshly picked blackberries. Then tea and scones with cream and homemade jam. And a delicious halloumi cheese from the friendly folks at Gaalburn Cheese.

And, as the woman who served us possum pie and a beer in the hamlet of Pukekura (population 2) pointed out, we are in a rainforest, which requires rain, even if we don’t. It’s a fair point. And we’ve discovered something else nice about the rain. It brings everything to life. The forests smell better. The birds sing louder. The green ferns look greener. Yes, in a light rain, cycling can be quite a beautiful thing.

But this morning it’s no light rain outside, more of a deluge. So for today at least we aren’t going far. We’ll occupy the kitchen, drink coffee and watch television, hoping that the increasingly waterlogged patch of land our tent is sitting on finds a way to drain off the drenching it’s getting. Otherwise we might be floating down the coast to Haast this evening. And maybe, just maybe, if the weather clears this afternoon we’ll go for a walk to see the glacier we know is just around the corner.

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