March 12, 2024

Lake Paringa to a Gravel Parking Spot before the Pancake Rocks

We wake up to another dreary day. The clouds are hanging low and we cannot see much.

Once we drive over the suspension bridge to the Fox Glacier the clouds disappear for a few seconds and we get to take one picture of Mt. Cook from the West Coast before the clouds and fog return.

Despite the unfriendly weather we hike around Lake Matheson. At the beginning it was only drizzling but then it turns to a steady rain.

Once we get back to the car, we change into dry clothes and continue our trip. We make another stop at Franz Joseph Glacier and enjoy a hearty vegetable soup.

The rain forest along some parts of the West Coast is really beautiful and dense. It has a lot of ferns, hardy palms and is very different from the rainforests we have seen so far.

We are doing freedom camping again, right next to the beach. At the beginning we are four campers. However around 8 pm there are nine campers fighting for a spot.

One camper was blocked in totally, but we don't hear any commotion the next morning. The ocean dimmed all noise.