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Left Queenstown on Thursday 18th for a couple of days driving to the glaciers on the West Coast. Thursday morning we took a bit of a detour out of Queenstown to a place called Glenorchy - 50km north of Queenstown and at the end of a dead end road hence had to return the way we had come to then leave Queenstown and drive out west...but also one of the main places used to film Lord of the Rings and other films such as Narnia and the like. After some breakfast in town at Naff Cafe (much nicer than the name implies!) we drove up there, along some very picturesque roads running along side Lake Wakatipu - somewhat scary in places though due to the lack of barriers on the cliff side roads and icy patches from the shadows cast by the mountains. Stopped for photos in several places en route (thankfully tourists and their snap happy ways are catered for in a couple of places with big laybys for you to pull over and not veer off the road trying to snap!) and again when we arrived, wandering along the river. Beautiful place but not much else of note in all honesty, so after some very overpriced petrol we started back towards Queenstown. Our next stop was a place called Wanaka, only 55km out of Queenstown (in the right direction this time!) as the crow flies but in actual fact takes about an hour and a half to drive as the mountains are blocking the way! Pretty uneventful drive but thankfully arrived just before 2 - we were starving and in search of lunch! After a small lamp post related incident, we had lunch at a place called Kai Whaka Pai, a lovely cafe with a proper lunch menu. Got huge chicken burgers in focaccia and loads of guacamole and chips, seriously tasty! Would have liked to have stayed longer in Wanaka. it was a really cool ski town with beautiful scenery and loads of nice cafes and shops but such is the way with this trip we don't have long in places and wanted to finish driving by dark. Took some more lake pics before heading off to Haast - the scenery was astonishing along this 150km stretch, parts of which we could have sworn we recognised as scenes from LOTR! (the river where the big black horses got washed away by the elf queen?!) Took about 2 hours to reach Haast Township (as opposed to the Pass or the Junction, bloody confusing!) but when we arrived about 5, wanting to find somewhere to stay for the evening, everywhere was surprisingly shut up, very strange. Pulled over and consulted our many campsite leaflets and guidebooks....the only option within a 100km radius (and in the right direction!) was a Department of Conservation "basic" campsite by Lake Paringa. Decided to get a move on as the light was fading fast and didn't want to be driving around in the icy darkness. Arrived at the Lake just in time and parked up about 25m from the waters edge, bit spooky in the dark! Sat and read for a bit before braving the elements for a very very dark expedition to the toilets, no electricity at all and not possessing a torch we had to make do with Dan's iPod backlight! More distressingly, once we reached the toilets in the pitch black the toilets were "long drop" ie no flush...was actually quite happy not being able to see a thing at this stage - urgh! Dan embraced the primitive conditions but unsurprisingly I was terrified and insisted on an escort whenever I stepped out the Spaceship! ;o) Started to get a bit peckish so Dan worked out how to use the gas rings we have folded away behind the passengers seat. Managed to successfully create a flame and then boil up pasta with ragu which we devoured straight out the saucepan with 2 forks! Couldn't face traipsing up to the shed to attempt washing up in the dark (we were too close to the lake to avoid contaminating the water) so whacked the pan in the passenger footwell, put the cooker away and gas off before remaking the bed and attempting to watch what turned out to be a seriously scratched copy of Bobby, with little success! Ended up watching the stars for ages - the plus of being in the middle of absolutely no where was that the sky was soooo beautiful and clear, we could see the Southern Cross and the Milky Way....the lack of facilities, even the long drop loos were worth the view!!
The next day Fri (19th) we woke up about half 8, very cosy in our cocoon of duvets and couldn't face getting out the car - it was FREEZING! Everything, including the car, was covered in ice...so I put on the usual 5 layers before venturing out for a brighter loo trip, teeth brushing with water from our pump (water at campsite was likely to be giardia infested apparently, nice!) and washing out the pasta pan! Dan paid our $12 camp fees (under a fiver!) before taking some really cool photos of the low lying mist on the lake, it was soo clear and reflecty! Drove off about 10ish to Fox Glacier, approx 60km or so away. Turned off before we reached the town, down a very narrow track to a car park where several walks originated. Rather overambitiously we picked the longest of these walks but apparently the end view was "stupendous" (according to the Rough Guide) with some awesome vantage points over the Glacier. Started out OK (for all of 5 minutes) before we encountered what can only be described as a raging stream (!) with no obvious crossing. I got half way across but couldn't get any further as the rocks were really icy and slippery in addition to being downright unstable! Had visions of me toppling into the freezing water head first and spraining my only stable ankle so returned to the bank swiftly! Dan was feeling more adventurous (read stupid) and launched himself onto the next big (and iciest rock) consequently falling onto it and miraculously escaping the water but bashing his knee! I turned back - in hindsight a good decision as ankle still stiff and unable to put my full weight through it and Dan then reappeared half an hour later after being outsmarted by another obstacle (a big icy river!) Did what we should have done all along and walked 5 minutes to a view point of the glacier and 5 minutes back!
Next stop was 5 km out of Fox Glacier to Lake Matheson, stopping first for lunch at the cafe there. Very spacious and modern with huge glass windows from floor to ceiling, giving great views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman (Mt Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand and the one on the right but Mt Tasman looks bigger as it is closer apparently) Had panini/burger munch before heading off on a 40 minute walk to the lakeside and back, contending with big tractors, squelchy mud and the cold enroute! Got to the jetty and despite good views of the mountains we were slightly underwhelmed as had been assured the lake was super clear and postcard shot reflections in the water when in actual fact the water was pretty murky and rippled! Came back to the car park and set off for Franz Josef where hopefully we would stay tonight. Only about 25km but very icy narrow and winding roads meant it still took a fair while. Pulled up into Rainforest Retreat, a lodge surrounded by all sorts of greenery (!) and managed to get a non powered camper van site for $22. Took advantage of the laundry and internet facilities before heading to the supermarket for dinner supplies and popping into see the glacier guide people too. The walk tomorrow seems fairly strenuous so slightly worried about my ankle and now big toe too (gone all swollen up and gross!) Spent a while reading and writing the journal, chilling in the Spaceship before gathering kitchen supplies and food together to start cooking over at the communal lodge. Whipped up a chicken chow mein feast, ate and washed up before putting a DVD on (philadelphia? with denzel and tom hanks!) and getting to sleep by 11 for an early start on the glacier.
Sat 20th, we woke up about half 7 and I felt rubbish. My ankle and toe were both painful and stiff from the cold and thinking that the glacier may well finish me off! Got up and dressed and drove to the Franz Josef Glaier Guides office with Bim where I managed to get a refund and left Dan for glacier fun...
After Jo left, I had to sit around for a while before our guide for the day (John from Lancaster!) introduced himself and explained what we would be doing on the glacier. So after we got our equipment (hiking boots, hat and gloves, waterproof jacket, trousers and crampons) we got on the bus to the Franz Josef Glacier National Park which took about 10 minutes. The car park where we got dropped off was about 3km from the glacier itself and we walked across the massively uneven dry river bed until the glacier was looming large over the group (of about 20 people). Here we split into two groups of 10 with a guide each, put on our crampons so we had plenty of grip on the ice and started what was a pretty steep climb for about 25 minutes up the glacier face - very sweaty work and the waterproof jacket came straight off! (never even put the trousers on) There were great views back down into the valley and to the mountains beyond. We kept climbing up the glacier on steps carved out of the ice by the guides, with guide ropes on the steepest parts just in case. After another 15 minutes or so we came to a crevass which was so narrow that we had to walk through it side on with one foot constantly in front of the other. Had to be careful not to slip or trip as the walls were completely slick and very tight on either side. Soon after we reached our highest part of the walk which gave even more spectacular views down the valley and wonderful views of how blue the glacier was. We stopped there for a little while to take in the views and have some snackage (well deserved in my opinion!) The journey downshill was harder going with very steep ice steps and hard to grip on. Halfway down our guide found an ice cave which we could walk through which was very cool. The rest of the way down was less steep but still fairly treacherous as that part of the glacier had been in shade all day so was still at its most icy. At the bottom it was a relief to get the uncomfortable crampons off though in the process I tragically lost (put down on a rock and never retrieved) my wonderful 2 quid Primark sunglasses that had done me proud so far this trip! Walked back to the coach, got back into town and hurried back to the Rainforest Retreat to see what Jo had been up to and to see how her ankle was feeling (awwww ;o) lol)
Needless to say my morning had been somewhat less interesting - internet nappage and gingernut biscuits but after hearing how strenuous the climb was, somewhat relieved! We set off fairly swiftly after Dan got back via more petrol and drove 170km north to Greymouth.
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