Aurthur's Pass and Bridal Veil Falls Tramp

The ladies are cruizen'!!

We drove the four hour drive over Aurthur's Pass from the east coast to the west coast. It was a windy, mountainess type of drive with beautiful scenery. Got up into more dense rain forest and eventually some snow country. My mom thinks that the snow is quite new and fresh unlike in Colorado you will see deep snow on the peaks that have been there for years. The snow in NZ melts by summer and is new every year. Also, this mountain range, The Southern Alps, seem to have the whole mountain covered by snow, not a "snow-capped" peak look.

Bridal Veil Falls Tramp--we saw from the side of the road, there were several tramp trails that we spotted but I had read about this one ahead of time. It was a very well marked trail, very rocky and slippery tree roots sticking up and wooden bridges covered w/ chicken wire to prevent slipping. We walked about half hour each way. It was quite steep in some places and we both felt like we got a good work out by the end. However, the view point from the final climb was a bit disappointing. The frozen Bridal Veil Falls was much smaller and farther away than we anticipated. However, it was great to get off of the beaten path and see some of the natural world.

Bog Pine-- is a pine tree but looks like it is covered in moss and as if it belonged in a swamp.

Aurthur's Pass--seemed to go through the saddle of the mountain, not right over the top, which for some reason is what I expected. It was a fun day!