After leaving Wanaka, we drove to Haast.  Haast is a small town on the west coast of South Island.  After dinner,  we went to Ship Creek to photograph sunset.  Ship Creek, Tauparikaka is 20km north of Haast.

Ship Creek consisted of swamp forests and windswept sand dunes.  Most of the group  decided to walk through the swamp forest with its well marked trail.   This photograph gives you a really good glimpse of the what the swamp and the trail  looked like.

I was looking for some plants with a little bit of light on them 

For the first time in New Zealand, I learnt how annoying sand flies could be so I decided that I had enough of the swampy area  and headed towards the beach and sand dunes.  

I was happy to get out of the buggy area and enjoy the setting light on the beach.  

The group was photographing this interesting piece of wood in the water so I joined them.

The next morning we met at 5.30 AM to go back to the same spot as the night before.  Today we walked around the lagoon area.  We didn't get very good light but there was a little bit of mist in the background that helped the photo. 

A few of us walked along the beach before leaving.  

Barbara, a member of our group, from Australia, was enjoying photographing this scenic area.  After leaving, we headed back to the hotel, packed up and started our drive to Fox Glacier.  

One of the highlights of our New Zealand tour was an open door helicopter ride over Fox Glacier.  The group met at 4 PM for safely instructions before everyone went out at different times.  Wendy and I were the second pair to go out.  I sat in front and took a photo of the dashboard as we were about to take off.  There were two seats in the back of the helicopter- Wendy sat behind me and Philip sat beside her giving the pilot instructions of where to fly.  It was very exciting.  

This was one of the first views as we took off.  We flew over the river and up into the mountains.  

It was pretty breathtaking!  I was a bit concerned that it would be cold but other than my hands getting a bit cold, I was fine.  This was definitely the highlight of the trip.  

Fox Glacier, was named after Sir William Fox, New Zealand's prime minister from 1869 to 1872.  Like its twin, Franz Josef, the glacier descends from the Southern Alps down into temperate rainforests just 300 metres above sea level.  The best way to see the glacier is to take a scenic flight.

Fox Glacier is a 13-kilometre-long (8.1 mi) temperate maritime glacier.  It is actually located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.  The glacier is fed by four alpine glaciers and descends 2,600 M (8,500 ft) on its 13 km journey from the Southern Alps to the coast.

I did have to remind myself to actually slow down on making photos and look around to see the gorgeous scenery.  

To be continued.