O my Lordy, when Seagull went on about the scenery down the west coast I thought he was just being a patriotic lover of his own country, but as I looked groggily out of the window of the smelly bus I realised he couldn't be more right. The views through the mountains were breathtaking, topped off nicely by the glorious weather we were having. Apparently the weather down the west coast is notorious for being very wet and windy so we had been so lucky so far with the cloudless skies we'd been having everyday.
We made a quick stop in Greymouth, a town that has recently been visited by Prince William to pay tribute to the miners that lost their lives. We did some shopping and of course had maccas before heading off again to Frans Josef. The first thing that struck me and we arrived in the tiny town nestled between the mountains was that it was basically a ski resort, only for glacier hikes instead of skiing. That is what the area was famous for, a glacier extending over the huge mountains. It was a huge 11.3km in length making it the fifth largest in new zealand (out of three and a half thousand). We were staying in Rainforest resort, a massive hostel with an attached caravan park. We had a chilled out evening socialising and eating lots before going to bed, preparing ourselves for our full-day hike up the glacier the next day.
We got up, made breakfast an lunch, and got kitted up in our waterproofs and boots so big that I could probably live in them. Thank god for wooly socks. We set off and was at the base of the glacier by 9am. It was an hours walk before we got to the ice itself and there we had to attach our clampons to the bottom of our boots, the spikes that help us not land on our bums every three steps. I felt like a real explorer then. We had another beautiful sunny day so the sun lotion was definitely needed, the waterproofs not so much. Up we hiked for 5hours amongst the crevices and cracks in the pillar, occasionally stopping to let our guide smash the ice with his ice pick to made the climbs easier and safer. Sometimes though I swear he just swung that ice pick to waste time and to make himself feel manly. He was a scrawny wee thing so he obviously needed to do what he could to boost his ego. The ice itself in places was a piercing blue because of the density of the ice in ruined parts. We were told that the ices can be up to 350m thick and can move two or three metres a day. Our guide talked about the Moonman, the guy who predicted the cyclone and the recent earthquakes who had also predicted another earthquake in the south island between the 17th and 24tg of march. Today was the 22nd. He promised that if there was an earthquake for whatever reason, we'd be perfectly safe from the mountains either side of us. Somehow I couldn't quite believe him.
Earthquakes aside, we had a pretty good day hiking, squeezing and climbing up and down the ice, slipping regularly and laughing lots. The views were spectacular and I loved the sharp contrast of the bright white ice and the green forest-covered of the mountains either side. By the end my giant shoes had rubbed and I stank to high heaven but I had a good day.
We had a quick dunk in the hot tub and chilled out at the bar where I entered a rock, paper, scissors competition to win a rope swing in Queenstown. I lost in the first round. Stupid Swedish man and his stupid paper covering my rock! Anyway I got to bed pretty early as I was determined to go for a run the next morning. Let's see if I make it out of my bed.
By 7:45 I had been for a run, got money out and was making brekkie. I wa dead chuffed but I was embarrassed by how much that run killed me! O well, I still worked up a bit of a sweat. We set off to Makarora stopping off at Mathemus Lake to get some postcard quality photos of new zealands two highest mountain reflecting perfectly off the still water. Seagulls a bit of a character and he loves the sound of his own voice sometimes but he knows how to make the most of a sunny day. A couple of waterfalls and the Blue Lakes later, we came to Makarora lodge an area filled with tipi style huts which were much more luxurious on the inside than the outside. That night in the bar was karaoke! Although all of us were determined to not to sing at the start, people were dragged up and soon the atmosphere was buzzing with the screeching voices of wannabe singers. I ended up singing Ace of Base with a bunch of girls and I didn't have a notion of what the song was or how it went. All part of the fun I suppose. Have way through the night I decided I loved New Zealand waaaay too much and I wanted to stay longer, only by two days but it all makes a difference. After spending a small fortune on a pay phone arranging it, I was in high spirits and went to bed with a big smile on my face.
The next morning I got up and went for another run! Two days in a row!! I'm so glad I did because as the rose from east it hit the mountains perfectly, making them glow a bright red. What a thing to wake up to. I even had a small moment of "I can't believe I'm in New Zealand!" It's good to have hose moments occasionally.