The party was great last night at Shelleys but as it wound down at about 4am, I decided I wanted to go to sleep. As I had the couch, I had to sleep amidst the few stragglers who were left chatting. This morning, I realise I had made a very stupid decision. When I went to the bathroom, I was greeted by my face, which now resembled the face of a cat, one that is sporting an undesirable body part on its cheek. Wonderful. When Will, sleeping on the other couch wakes up and sees me, he starts laughing uncontrollably but then stops when it dawns on him that if my face has been sabotaged, so has is! Shelley then gets up, laughs hysterically and we sit and drink tea for an hour. I spend the next hour scrubbing my face until it's red raw and in pain. I still resemble a cat but not to worry. It will give people a reason to stare.
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| Shelley and I in Monsoon Bar |
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| Cheers guys |
I walk into the quaint little town of Franz Josef and decide to do the glacier walk. It's a fine day - perfect for a bit of a hike. The staggering development of Franz Josef and Fox glacier is largely due to the endless rain of the West Coast. Snow falling in the glaciers broad accumulation zones fuses into clear ice at 20 metres depth, then surges down valleys. The glaciers are particularly steep, so the ice travels a long way before finally melting. Although 140 glaciers flow from the Southern Alps, only these two glaciers reach the lower rainforests and sit at just 250 metres above sea level, making them accessible to the public. To actually get onto the glacier, one must do a guided tour which proves to be quite expensive (generally all over 150 dollars and my bank balance isn't looking majorly healthy) so I think getting 200 metres away from the glacier is good enough for me.
I walk from the town, through the rainforest and reach the car-park after approximately an hour. Shelley has recommended I do the walk to 'Peters Pool', about 25 minutes from where I am. When I get there, the view is wonderful. The mountains and glaciers are reflected in the small pond and as it is such a calm day, the surface of the water is perfectly still and undisturbed so the reflection is flawless. It's a beautiful sight.
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| View at Peters Pool |
I walk back and then begin the walk to the glacier which is an hour and a half return. It takes me through the rainforest again and eventually I reach the glacier valley. Early Maori called the glacier 'Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere' - the tears of the avalanche girl. The legend tells of a girl whose tears froze to form the glacier after her lover fell to his death from one of the peaks. I feel like I'm in an ancient valley, completely alone and vulnerable (as there doesn't seem to be anyone else doing the walk) but it feels awesome. On each side of me are rising concrete cliffs and a river runs along side me over more stone. Gushing waterfalls and greenery adorn the sides of the cliffs that both lead up to glacier in the centre in front of me. I finally get to the top viewing point to see the ice, as hard as steel. It's pretty spectacular and my photos don't really do the sight justice. Although the glacier is really impressive, it's more the whole scene that gets me, and the sheer size of what I am standing in, completely alone. This is probably the only time I will stand right in front of a glacier so I sit, breathe in the clear air and marvel at the sight in front of me for a few minutes. It is tempting to go beyond the barrier and explore further, but there are clear signs warning against this, one containing a copy of the newspaper cut out detailing the death of two tourists who tried to brave the elements and were hit and killed by falling ice.
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| The glacier walk |
It's actually beginning to get dark and I knew I shouldn't have set off
so late. If I were to be caught down here before reaching the beginning
of the valley I'd be in trouble as there is obviously no 'street lights'. I
hurry back and make my way towards town. I decide after about four
hours of walking I'm too lazy to cook so I head to the Landing
for some grub. A delicious sirloin burger and chips is 22 dollars. The
atmosphere is great and staff are friendly so it's definitely worth it.
Shelley's working again tonight so it's home, an episode of 'Mad Men'
and sleep time for me! The view of the moon is beautiful as I walk. Oh
New Zealand, you spoil us!
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| The moon over Franz Josef |
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