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Today was a dang hard day but full to the brim of good stuff. We are such die-hards!
We did see stars last night, many stars, even a bit of the milky-way, but the sky was not clear enough to see the billions I was hoping to see. Encouraged by simply being here we decided to wake up early-enough to see the sunrise - thinking that it might be one in a million coming over the range of mountains facing the patio of our room. As it turned out, I got two quick photos. And that's all. Clouds moved in and in two minutes the top of the mountain was completely shrouded in clouds.
On a mission to see the NZ west coast in record time, we headed out quickly. To see the Fox Glacier, you must make a 4K hike, about half of which is very steep, I mean really steep, and rocky - a good work-out! The trail leads you over rough moraine debris. Glacial moraines are piles of rock and rock flour formed by the glacier raking and scraping through the valley. The piles of rock we walked over were left after the last glacial retreat in the 1960's. The hike takes about an hour which is not too bad if you are moving at a brisk pace. Fox Glacier is the largest and longest of the spectacular West Coast glaciers. Keep in mind the glacier crowns a temperate rainforest complete with jungle, ferns and mosquitoes. Biting little SOB's.
The Fox Glacier is a long field of blue and white ice sweeping up the mountain top crevice. It defies description. How can you say more?
Then we drove on to Franz Josef Glacier - just a few miles down the road. By the way, to the Kiwi's, the term, glacier, is pronounced "glass-si-er." The hike to this glacier is quite a bit longer but much easier to maneuver - only a small amount of steep uphill climb is required. Stan and I trekked it like we were being timed. All along the way, I had to pause to take photos of the beautiful mountains, the colors, the waterfalls and the rocks along the trail. One view made us think of King Kong - you could almost see him peeking over the tall rock wall. Other views made us think we could hear the rhythm of drum beats from deep in the jungle. Ju-ju, Bwana! Ju-ju!
This Franz Josef Glacier, although not as large as the Fox Glacier, is much more spectacular. It looks like polished marble. But when you look at the upper-most crust with binoculars or a great telephoto lens, you see that the surface is rough and very-crunchy-looking. I feel badly that I am short-cutting descriptions of these wonderful worldly miracles. It is far more miraculous than I am describing, but I am hoping the photos provide a hint as to what these wonders really are.
Here's a thought. These glaciers are almost living things. The Fox Glacier and the Franz Josef have been retreating (shrinking) since the ice age, but in the 1990's they actually grew due to increased precipitation, i.e., more snow, and a thicker pack. Since 2000, however, because of global warming and less precipitation, they began retreating again at an accelerated rate, 1500 to 2700 feet per year.
Here is another scary stat: Per Union of Concerned Scientists, glacial melting is likely to reduce tourism in all the places we just visited in the past two days. A loss of plant-life is also expected. Two to three-hundred plant-species may disappear as well. Sad.
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