Jan. 4

Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier village

A driving day. The route winds through mountain country before crossing the Southern Alps and suddenly finding the coast. Again, it's spectacular, but at this point we're a little bit desensitized to rock soaring upward. It is an amazing country, however, where you can be winding your way up along a mountain road, seeing nothing but up on one side and nothing but ocean on the other.