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T&KonTour
Saturday 12 March, Greymouth to Franz Joseph
We were off about 7.30am to check out the Mega store (like Bunnings, toyshop for boys). Unfortunately, Tony had forgotten that today was Saturday, not Friday and therefore they didn't open until 8.30am! So second choice was to walk around town to check out the shops. Have say that not much happens in Greymouth before 9.00am on Saturday. OK, so we drive up to the lookout point marked on the map. Really windy road up to an electricity substation on the hill. However we did get some shots over the town and the Grey River mouth.
Some 40km south of Greymouth is Hokitika, which according to the tourist books is a "Cool Little Town." Famous for its jade (locally known as greenstone or Pounamu) it just happened to be the Wildfoods Festival day, so things were jumping. As luck would have it, one of the jade shops was attached to the coffee shop so whilst Tony & Colin organised drinks the ladies checked out the jewellery. Kathy chose a hook design for her birthday present from Tony, while Suz bought herself a birthday gift of a pendant. We walked the main street and browsed the stalls. Colin bought a local delicacy of Whitebait Fritter and shared it around.
Next on the itinerary was a drive around Lake Kaniere with stops for kodak moments, and to walk up to Dorothy Falls. Then back to the main road (route 6) for a short 25km drive to Ross and a quick stop for lunch on the run. We settled in for the 85km drive to Franz Josef. At the Whataroa River crossing we had a great view of snow-capped Mount Cook, so we stopped for another kodak moment. There just happened to be a gentleman in the layby with brochures for chopper flights over the glaciers. Very close, just over the bridge and turn left for a kilometre. "Ask for a discount." Well Colin was keen and got 15% off, so that was that. Less than 10 minutes later we were skimming over the tree-covered side of a mountain as we climbed to 10,000 feet and a thrilling ride over the glaciers and mountain peaks. The weather was perfect, unlike the next day when low cloud stopped flights from Fox Glacier so we were lucky.
Then it was a short drive from Whataroa to Franz Josef and our 2-bedroom apartment, which just happened to a across the road from the hot mineral springs centre. The motel receptionist at "58 On Cron" was really helpful and booked us a private spa at 10% discount. Most us of stretched our legs by walking down the main street to book a table for dinner in this busy little town. Then we headed for a relaxing soak in the natural waters, bliss!
We were off about 7.30am to check out the Mega store (like Bunnings, toyshop for boys). Unfortunately, Tony had forgotten that today was Saturday, not Friday and therefore they didn't open until 8.30am! So second choice was to walk around town to check out the shops. Have say that not much happens in Greymouth before 9.00am on Saturday. OK, so we drive up to the lookout point marked on the map. Really windy road up to an electricity substation on the hill. However we did get some shots over the town and the Grey River mouth.
Some 40km south of Greymouth is Hokitika, which according to the tourist books is a "Cool Little Town." Famous for its jade (locally known as greenstone or Pounamu) it just happened to be the Wildfoods Festival day, so things were jumping. As luck would have it, one of the jade shops was attached to the coffee shop so whilst Tony & Colin organised drinks the ladies checked out the jewellery. Kathy chose a hook design for her birthday present from Tony, while Suz bought herself a birthday gift of a pendant. We walked the main street and browsed the stalls. Colin bought a local delicacy of Whitebait Fritter and shared it around.
Next on the itinerary was a drive around Lake Kaniere with stops for kodak moments, and to walk up to Dorothy Falls. Then back to the main road (route 6) for a short 25km drive to Ross and a quick stop for lunch on the run. We settled in for the 85km drive to Franz Josef. At the Whataroa River crossing we had a great view of snow-capped Mount Cook, so we stopped for another kodak moment. There just happened to be a gentleman in the layby with brochures for chopper flights over the glaciers. Very close, just over the bridge and turn left for a kilometre. "Ask for a discount." Well Colin was keen and got 15% off, so that was that. Less than 10 minutes later we were skimming over the tree-covered side of a mountain as we climbed to 10,000 feet and a thrilling ride over the glaciers and mountain peaks. The weather was perfect, unlike the next day when low cloud stopped flights from Fox Glacier so we were lucky.
Then it was a short drive from Whataroa to Franz Josef and our 2-bedroom apartment, which just happened to a across the road from the hot mineral springs centre. The motel receptionist at "58 On Cron" was really helpful and booked us a private spa at 10% discount. Most us of stretched our legs by walking down the main street to book a table for dinner in this busy little town. Then we headed for a relaxing soak in the natural waters, bliss!
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