Days 11 and 12 Forest or farm??, and we're dead........

Day 11 highlights include the Christ Church Cathedral in Nelson and New Zealand's longest swingbridge.  The Anglican cathedral is one of your cooler churches we have seen in the world.  Modern yet traditional.  Not too small, not too big.  And, not too quiet.  Someone was vacuuming getting ready for mass later today.

The Buller Gorge Swingbridge was interesting.  For $10NZ each, you could walk across an Indiana Jones swingbridge, hike to Ariki Falls and use their bathroom.  We also ate our picnic lunch there.

This is Ariki Falls, really?  More like Ariki Waves.

Forest or farm?  Much of New Zealand is lumbered.  Many/most mountains are farmed for a strong, solid pine.  I believe Alex and I used it for window and door trim in Bozeman.  Clear cutting everywhere with generation-spanning forests being regrown.  Lumber trucks on all the roads.  Views include 2 year old to mature forests.  Good and bad, I guess.  

Day 12 found us at Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.  Whaaat?  Best explained with pictures below.  Very unique for limestone.

We also visited Franz Josef Glacier.  Part of the Southern Alps.  Unique in several respects.  First, it and its two sister glaciers are just 1000 feet above sea level.  Yes, we are getting closer to the South Pole.  Also, it is disappearing fast due to climate change.  See the picture below.  Hence the title, "We're dead...."  To see this massive glacier disappearing has/should make one think about what 7 million people are doing to this planet.

This sign was at the parking lot with a long walk in to view the glacier. 
The statistics are sobering.

This is all that remains of the glacier.  We are standing where the terminus was 11 years ago!