South Island Serendipity.

Stayed in a truly first class hotel in Christchurch called the Chateau and what does Lady M do? Leave her fleece which is required wardrobe for visits to Milford and Doubtful Sounds plus homage to the Glaciers Fox and Franz Joseph.
However NZ is now living up to her beauty queen reputation and surely the Miss World title beckons. Every lake, every mountain is more magnificent and picture postcard perfect. Thank you Captain Cook for discovering this piece of earthly heaven. Only one problem so far - the pound sterling is falling faster than a sky diver. What's more NZ's finest wines are far cheaper in Ealing Waitrose than buying them where they are made - funny old world, isn't it?
Long journey from Christchurch to Queenstown, a friendly entrance to the world of fjords and glaciers, surrounded by mountains called the Remarkables. Lady M poses for a picture in front of them - naturally.
Onto Te Anau and a beautiful lake which managed to fulfil one of Colin's fantasies. We take off in a seaplane to fly over the mountains and see Doubtful Sound, so called because the aforementioned Captain Cook wasn't sure quite what it was. Lady M, who has always expressed great fear of small aircraft, was in ecstasy as pilot Allan Remnant took us within kissing distance of some of NZ's hughest peaks en route to Doubtful, a quiet and beautiful fjord. We went through sunshine, rain, snow, hail - the lot as we traversed micro climates in a 45 minute flight that was unforgettable. Colin has flown most aircraft from Spitfires to Concorde - but a seaplane landing and takeoff was a first. Brilliant!
The following day we took a cruise on Milford Sound. The car journey was spectacular enough, traversing mountain passes, seeing Mirror Lakes and seeing the bird life. The cruise, lasting two and a half hours, took us out to the Tasman Sea through the 13 kilometre fjord with its water falls and sheer mountain sides. Truly awesome and breathtaking. We saw dolphins, furry seals basking in the occasional sun and experienced warmth and freezing cold as rain set in. We purchased a couple of 3 dollar plastic capes - we looked stupid but at least we were dry. Getting wet under one of the water falls is alleged to take ten years off your life - we may be living proof that this is a genuine myth.
Thence to the glaciers. Franz Joseph is the more substantial and awe inspiring but Fox has its own special charm. We stayed in a motel near the Matheson Lake from which, on a good morning, you have a wonderful view of Mount Tasman and Mount Cook, the two tallest peaks in NZ, the latter more than 13,000 ft, losing 300ft two years ago when part of the summit was dislodged. Later we hope to show you a photo we achieved with the two mountains reflected in the lake.
Franz Joseph can be viewed by helicopter but we walked to the base of it, admiring the sheer power and majesty of what is surely the ninth wonder of the world. There is only one other glacier in the world - I'm not sure where - which, along with Fox, emerges at sea level for easy inspection by greedy tourists.
Now in need of a beer after three 90 minute walks we'll leave you - hopefully wanting more of our astonishing trip which, compared with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, is surely more newsworthy.