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Day 26 - After our tiring walk to Franz Joseph glacier yesterday we decided to have a lie in, take a break from walking or being on the road and relax on the beach all day. Unfortunately the weather didn't agree with our plans so waking up to grey skies, including low lying cloud covering up our view of the mountain range, was a little disappointing. After an hour or so the clouds appeared to be clearing so we hit the beach to enjoy it while we could. Andy was straight in the water and straight back out again after being thrown around like a rag doll by the huge waves that crash straight onto the sand, meaning a hard landing every time you are swept into one. For Andy to say that something, especially water related, is "too dangerous" is very rare but it happened today! He retreated to the safety and warmth of the car whilst Nikki stayed on the beach for a little while longer even as the sun went back behind the clouds as she is getting a little cabin fever being stuck in the car! The afternoon was spent watching DVDs and reading so we got to relax after all, just not in the sunshine.
Day 27 - After our 1 day rest bite, we drove into the Fox Glacier Township to try and book ourselves onto a hike up the Fox Glacier...glacier. There were a couple of spots on the afternoon half day trip so after some lunch we got geared up into hiking boots, woolly socks and big rain jackets and got on a bus that would take us to the glacier's terminal face. Along the road to it we passed signs that marked where the glacier had been in previous years as it has been melting and retreating for the past few hundred years. They do however predict an advance in the next hundred years but with global temperatures rising we shall see if it comes to fruition. The walk started along the dry section of riverbed but we had to take a dangerous de-tour where we weren't allowed to stop by any means as we walked passed a rock fall zone. Recent heavy rain had changed the path of the river so the usual route was now underwater, there was however a man employed to just stand there and stare up at the rocks so he could warn walkers of any that may start falling, poor fella! (Before we start we'll explain what a glacier actually is. At the top of the mountains is an area where all the snow collects called the néve. As more and more snow falls, the existing snow is compressed into ice and pushed down the valley, almost like a conveyer belt. So the ice we would be hiking on at the bottom was compressed snow that had fallen way up at the top around 100 years ago which has gradually been pushed down where eventually it will melt and become a part of the river flowing out of the glacier.) As with the previous glacier, you soon realise just how big the glacier is when you get up close as it towered above us. A steep walk of 30minutes took us to one side of the glacier, and it looked a lot different when it was right next to us. Jagged, huge pieces of ice seemingly slotted into place between large flat sections, it gave a great perspective of what happens to ice on the move. Some people may have been disappointed to find large sections of it covered in black dust and rock and not the pristine blue ice expected but with a few key facts from our guide we gained a lot of respect for this natural wonder. Firstly, due to an average advancing speed of 1 metre a day, the guides have to carve a new set of steps leading up the glacier's side every morning. (You may be wondering how it is retreating from its location many years ago yet advancing at the same time. If you put a stick in the ice, a day later it will have moved a metre, however at the end of the glacier it is melting at a rate faster than this, meaning as a whole it is retreating.) Secondly, the rocks that are on the glacier have travelled all the way down from the néve, they know this as the rocks are only found 1500m further up the mountain. Lastly, there were patches of sand coloured ice. This (unbelievably) is dust from the outback of Australia that has travelled over from storms many many years ago. As the dust is sent up into the clouds from sandstorms, it travels over the sea where it then hits the mountains. A snowflake cannot just form, it has to form around something, a nucleus if you will, in this case a particle of sand. It then snows at the top of the mountain, and as more and more snow falls it is crushed and compressed creating the hard ice of the glacier and leaving behind these areas of sandy ice which after being pushed down the glacier for 100 years then appear near the bottom. Very cool and very strange to be in New Zealand on a glacier whilst standing on sand from the outback that left there well before we were born!
To walk around on the glacier we had 'cramp-ons' attached to the bottom of our boots. It was quite fun stomping our way along the ice to make sure we had a grip, though we both found it difficult to look around at our surroundings as you are constantly looking at the ice and where to put your next step. There were lots of holes varying in size that were ice blue and contained water that we believe trickles down to the bottom and into the river as our guide said if you were to cut through the glacier it would look like a piece of Edam full of holes. The furthest point we reached up the glacier was a small tunnel around 3 meters long and small enough that we had to crouch to get through it. It meant we got to see how the ice looks underneath the surface, it was very hard (obviously) and really smooth unlike the top layer, due to all the pressure on it. We got a little bit of rain so turned back before it got any heavier (rain triggers the rock falls and we needed to get back past just in case!). We were quite warm due to the big jackets we were given but our hands were freezing which made it quite difficult to take the cramp-ons off once we got off the ice. Around 4 hours after leaving we were back on the bus and were pleased at having had a really great afternoon. Another thing ticked off the list, we have walked on a glacier!
Day 28 - No rest for the wicked, we set off early to head to Lake Wanaka. The drive took us from the coast where we started the familiar winding on mountain roads. No complaints though as the views were spectacular especially once we were driving alongside royal blue lakes with yet more snow topped green mountains in the background. We stopped along the way to take a quick look at Thunder Creek Falls as they were right by the road, before arriving at a camp on the shore of Lake Wanaka. The views were spectacular so we had a relaxing afternoon in the sunshine with amazing scenery surrounding us.
Day 29 - Today we were driving to Queenstown whilst making some stops in towns along the way. Driving from Lake Wanaka to Lake Hawea (pet) was as picturesque as ever. We had clear skies, the lakes were as blue as ever and we couldn't help but pull over for photos. Just before the town of Wanaka we stopped at Puzzling World, the main attraction in town. Set up in the 70s it's based on magic, illusions and all types of puzzles. We spent an hour here in the illusion exhibit which contained things such as a room that made one of us look big and one very small, a room completely on a tilt so it looks like you are standing at impossible angles and more. A bit of fun! In Wanaka we picked up supplies before starting the 120km drive to Queenstown. Just short of the town we stopped to watch some people bungy (NZ & original spelling. We spell it bungee) jump off a bridge which was the location of the worlds very first bungy. There was then one more stop before Queenstown in a place called Arrowtown, an old gold mining town that still has all its original buildings (albeit with newer shops inside them) so it was like taking a step back in time. They had a traditional sweet shop full of English sweets from home both old and new but we resisted buying anything, too expensive!
We finally arrived in Queenstown and set up camp a little way past the town at a cheap campsite on the edge of New Zealand's longest lake.
Day 30 - Queenstown is the 'adventure capital' of NZ where you can do every kind of extreme sport imaginable. For us though, our budget won't allow any more expensive thrills (this = an upset Andy) so today was walk around the town day. As we were in the first major town we'd been to in a while, we headed first for McDonalds (only to use their free wifi of course, they don't really cater for us veggies!) followed by an hour in Starbucks where we made full use of their plug sockets to charge everything. After this we did actually explore the town including a wander through their weekend market (an actual market this time!). Whilst looking at town maps Andy discovered there was a sport he's been wanting to try and it didn't cost much to do, one by the name of Frisbee-Golf. In Queenstown's park they have an 18 'hole' course set up for anyone with a frisbee to play on. We rented a couple from a sports shop along with a scorecard and got stuck in! Exactly the same as golf, you have a start point on each hole, a par, and the aim is to get your frisbee into a metal basket rather than a hole. It took is a couple of hours to complete the course and we had a really good time, although the wind made it a little harder! We experienced without doubt the strongest wind we've ever come across, a gust that lasted almost a minute and had Nikki hanging onto a tree trying to stay upright (it really was that strong) whilst debris rained down on us from surrounding trees, it was both awe inspiring and scary at the same time.
Day 31 - Today was our laziest day yet. We spent 6, yes 6 hours in a ludicrously cheap internet cafe in town which enabled Andy to ring Grandma and Nikki to have a nice long chat with her family for 2 hours. We also checked e-mails, did various banking things and what not, added photos to the blog, and Andy was able to download an update for his phone which has been playing up. This turned out to be a very bad thing indeed, as although it 'updated' his phone, it wiped everything off it. This was the day that everything you have read in the past 3 blogs was gone, meaning it all had to be written again. Needless to say he wasn't a happy bunny! Once we got over this disaster we were on the road again and heading for Paradise - that's the name of the town! We weren't doing anything there, just heading for a campsite to stay at. The drive took us along the length of NZ's longest lake which was nice, and after a wrong turn we finally ended up in a campsite. Goodnight!
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