SNOW!!!

Up about 8:00. It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. Showered, had breakfast (bacon and eggs, real hashbrowns...yumm), then about 9:30, drove up to Te Anau intent on renting tire chains and driving up to Milford. Halfway to town, I realized I left my toque and gloves back at the hostel, so continued on to Te Anau, drove by the visitors centre to see if the Milford Road was open (it was), then drove by the garage that hires snow chains, then still had their sign out front, then drove back to the hostel to get my gloves and toque. It's pouring rain, hard. On my way back to the hostel, decided to take a coach tour up to Milford on Thursday instead, then I don't have to worry about driving on ice and snow, and can enjoy the view instead.

Drove back to town, and visited the visitor centre to get info on Milford Sound trips ,then to internet for a while (cheap internet for a small town, only $4/hour). As I used the internet, glanced outside, and it was snowing. Huge flakes coming down. Finished internet, still snowing hard. It's all melting as soon as it hits the ground, though. Went and booked Milford Sound trip with Milford Wilderness Explorer for $135 for Thursday, then drove around a while. Snowfall even heavier now, and it's not melting anymore. Parked in the DOC visitors centre parking lot and just walked around in the snow around the lake area, catching flakes in my mouth. Amazing snowfall, huge flakes, heavy and wet. It makes everything look beautiful.

Finally headed back to the hostel about 4:00, the highway was covered in a thick layer of wet slush. A Japanese tourist went in the ditch ahead of me. I stopped and tried to push him out, but couldn't. I suggested he call for a tow truck and ditched him. On the road going back up to the hostel, a guy got stuck, couldn't get up the hill, which meant another guy behind him had to stop, and so did I. We got out, and pushed the first guy up the hill, but then the 2nd car and me couldn't get up the hill anymore, having stopped and lost our momentum. They had tire chains, so they put them on and drove up, then one of them ran back down and gave me the chains and I managed to get up too.

Back at the hostel, the couple working the hostel, and the owners kids and the dog and some of the guests were having a blast in the snow, riding down the hill on dinner trays. The dog was going crazy in the snow. They made a big 7' snowman. Inside, they had the fireplaces going. It's just like Christmas! Lady at the hostel said they rarely get snow like this down here. The owner said he hasn't seen a snowfall like this in more than 5 years.

Everyone just hung back at the hostel this evening.

One couple got back about 6:30 from a drive to Milford Sound, they said it was nice up there, no snow, just some rain all day.

Played cards, tried to solve an almost impossible jigsaw puzzle, then to bed about 11:00.