Wet, wet, wet!

Not that I'm expecting sympathy from anyone in the UK if I complain about the weather right now.....but today was definitely the wettest day so far in my trip.  And the windiest.  Plus, we do have snow here, too - look!

The good thing is that I'd already booked a trip to Doubtful Sound - if you're going to have a rainy day, may as well spend it in on a coach and a boat, right?  But even so, the best views were to be got from the outside sections on the boat, so I still managed to get myself drenched to the skin.  Still, it was worth it in order to see water being blown back *up* the waterfall.  And there were waterfalls aplenty, given the amount of rain.

The way our guide explained it, this part of the world is basically made up of solid granite plates that have been pushed straight up with the earth's movements.  So steep cliffs and no way for the water to soak into the earth + lots and lots of rain = spectacular waterfalls.

Admittedly, the novelty wore off after a bit, and the coach ride back was full of people with an attitude of "Oh look, another waterfall.  Meh."  But it was still a good day.

Now tomorrow is the start of my Routeburn Track experience.  Supposedly one of the most glorious great walks in  New Zealand for views.   However, given the current weather forecasts, (90kmph winds and serious rain), I have just cancelled.  I'm gutted, as it is the only chance I will get to do the walk, but I just couldn't face it on my own in those weather conditions.

So tomorrow will start off with me trying to think of something else to do for a few days, and rearranging the pickup point for my Milford Sound cruise as I will no longer be walking part way down the track :-(