Saturday 14th May

A wonderful day was planned for this Saturday in the South Island. I have been given locations to visit and planned an adventure in Cuzzie. Our first stop was to pick up Jase from the airport, he has flown in for a couple of days and we are on a whirl wind tour.

With me in the drivers seat and after a quick coffee making stop in Cuzzie we were off. It was a lovely sunny day and we had my selection of music blaring through Cuzzie's speakers with Google maps interrupting the tunes when we need to go left or right!

Lake Rotoiti was my first stop and as we arrived it was misty and there was a little low cloud but nothing was stopping me today from seeing the sights. A kittle rain made he walk fun and the mist made the forest seem even more magical. We walked and talked, I sort of skipped along admiring this very special place. The lake was glassy calm and the bellbirds sung as we walked along the tracks, what a beautiful magical beech forest, this place deserves me to spend longer exploring. As we arrive back to Cuzzie the mist lifts a little then the rain stops and a rainbow appears as the sunshine arrives. A very special moment when a double ended rainbow arrives! The biggest smiles from me, no need to go hunting for the gold at the end of this rainbow, just seeing it is, to me, MN smiling at me. I was even tempted to jump off the jetty with some other tourists to celebrate but my excuse to stay dry was that there was more to see and do before the day was over.

We speed off down the road, we had another forest to see, the beech forest walk to Lake Daniells. We stopped in Cuzzie to eat snacks and have another coffee, it is great to share this trip with someone and we discuss that if it was not for the fact of me being on this crazy coastline paddling journey then we would not be seeing any of these amazing NZ secrets that we as kiwis never see and leave it to the tourists to visit. I am again hearing my Dad's words, "Why do you want to go overseas when NZ as a country has everything you would ever want to see in your lifetime?" He may be right.

The forest walk, how beautiful this is. Truly there are fairies in this beech forest for sure. Everywhere I look I grin, moss, beech trees, little mushrooms and black robins, this is exquisite, mysterious and enchanting. We were only able to trek for one hour on the track before time was against us and we turned to walk out before darkness arrived. I just wanted to keep seeing what was around the next corner of this track but the hot pools further up the road had been recommended.

Maruia Thermal Springs was where we went next and we are not at all disappointed. It was just dusk when we arrived, the pools are in a mountain valley next to the Maruia River, it is a very rustic thermal-springs just before Lewis Pass. We sat in the outdoor pools looking up at the mist and clouds swirling above us. The saddles had all gone for the day and the stars were coming out. The warm pools were calming and were just what I needed to end the day. The Japanese bath house was also great to visit and crazy but true it was nice to rinse off in the cold shower afterwards. This hot pool visiting could become a habit, maybe a portable hot tub in my back yard when I return home is in order!

Tonight is about parking up in Cuzzie in a freedom camping spot back at the carpark for Lake Daniells. Maybe a really early morning walk in the beech forest to see if I can find a kiwi still out and about and then a continue of the tiki tour.

My Smiles:
To Jetstar for having such cheap airfares.
To the amazing man and your tiki tour recommendations.
To the fairies in the beech forests, I love your world
To the birds who came to say hi today, even the one who flew inside Cuzzie.
NZ and the magical places I am discovering. Yes Dad, I agree our country is special.

My thoughts today:
When there are rainbows, I am totally sure magic exists. Simple and so extraordinary.

Good night from Red, Jase and Cuzzie.

PS, The video for the second part of the Fiordland trip is now up.