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With much of the bus feeling worse for wear, including the driver, because of the night priors poo party at Lake Mahinapua, we set off at around 10am, to what was to be my favourite place in the whole of New Zealand....Franz Josef :D The morning started with a short drive through the town of Ross to Pukekura, where there was the Bushman's Centre! The centre offered an insight into how people make a living on the coast through sphagnum moss, timber-milling, possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery! There was also a museum here which very few of us went in.....as there was a charge to enter! There were also two deer's randomly grazing outside on the front lawn; behind a fence of course as they were vicious creatures making funny noises at us as we approached the fence! It was a really random stop to be honest but it was somewhere for us to stretch our legs and recover from the night before, and gave the people who hadn't had chance to have any breakfast an opportunity to grab a bite to eat!
From Pukekura we continued to head southwards towards Franz Josef Glacier Village which is nestled in the Westland National Park, passing numerous Kettle Lakes along the way! Kettle lakes are created as glaciers retreat and leave huge chunks of ice behind that melt and form deep lakes! The glacier region of South Westland is a land rich in natural wonders - majestic snow-capped peaks, vast forests, sand dunes, lagoons and beaches nestled along the varied coastline. Westland Tai Poutini National Park is a striking feature of the glacial region, encompassing the two famous glaciers - Franz Josef (Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere) and Fox (Te Moeka o Tuawe).
We passed through Whataroa and Okarito, before making a photo stop of the glaciers from a distance, and then another photo stop at a nearby lake where many of the group laid down side by side on the jetty going out into the lake as many groups before us had done! Then after that we arrived in the township of Franz Josef Village, where I was told that I was to be in the first group of skydivers! There were a total of ten people on the bus that wanted to skydive so we were split up into one group of six and one group of four, the group of six which I was in were skydiving as soon as we arrived in Franz Josef, so it was all go go go, as we were thrust off the Kiwi Experience bus and straight onto the skydiving minibus, we left all our bags on the kiwi bus as the driver said he would drop them off at the hostel as we hadn't even checked in at our hostel yet! From Franz Josef village we drove 25 minutes to where the skydiving team where based, during which the women driving the minibus told us what to expect and do when we arrived! It still hadn't sunk in that I was about to jump out of a plane at this stage as everything was happening so quickly I had no time to think about what I was about to do!
When we arrived at the skydiving base we were taken to the office where we had to sign a few forms just to say that if anything goes wrong, the company takes no responsibility, and it just warned us that there was a possibility of death, which was nice to know :P After that we were directed to the room where all the jumpsuits were kept, then we were split up into groups of two as the plane was very small that only two people and their instructor could get in the plane plus the pilot obviously lol, but even then it was a tight cramped squeeze! I was told that I was going to be in the last group which meant that I had a lengthy wait of roughly 45 minutes to an hour before I would jump, which is when it started to sink that I was about to do a skydive and this is when I started to get a little worried for the first time yet still excited! The two people that were jumping first Adam and Umesh, were told to put on their jumpsuits while the instructor explained to all of us the procedure we would be taking when we jump out of the plane, like taking up the banana position and tilting our heads back, and opening our arms once we had been tapped all of which I forgot when I was jumping out! He also went through the health and safety issues, before the little yellow and white plane took Adam and Umesh up to the jumping point! Which meant it was two down yet four to go, the skydiving company was only a small operation which meant that they only had one plane so we had to wait for it to return before the next pair could go, while we waited there was nothing to do, but all of us went to the toilet which was probably a sign of nerves lol, yet the other three didn't seem nervous at all, probably because two of them had already skydived before! After strolling up and down and then sitting down staring aimlessly into space, Arjun (the other person jumping with me) and I were told that we had swapped groups with the two girls that were diving so we were now in the second group and not the third as we both wanted a video but only one of the girls did, so they wanted to get the videos done so they pushed us forward a group which I was delighted about as otherwise it would have meant another 30 minutes waiting aimlessly, so after the news we were told to put on out jumpsuits straight away, the we did a short interview outside the plane on the video that our instructors where filming of our dive, then we were attached to the instructors and got on the plane, my instructor and I were squished in at the back of the plane, it was quite close for comfort in there!
We were then given an opportunity to take photos of New Zealand's most scenic flight as we flew up to 12,500 ft, while the instructors carried on filming; it took 20 minutes until we reached out jump point, so it gave us chance to take in the stunning views! It also took my mind off of the fact that I was soon to be jumping as the views were just jaw dropping, the 360o birds eye views of New Zealand's most spectacular coastal, rainforest, alpine and glacial scenery (including Mount Cook - New Zealand's highest mountain) plus a tandem skydive awaiting me at the end of the scenic flight made for a completely exhilarating adventure! We had taken off over the West Coasts magnificent rainforests with views over Lake Matheson and the Tasman Sea. We flew around the mighty Mount Cook and over the top of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers with panoramic views of the Southern Alps. The twenty minutes was soon up however and we had reached 12,500 feet and were now parallel with Mount Cook the plane door opened and a huge freezing cold gust of wind rushed into the plane, and more or less straight away Arjun jumped out which left me to wriggle my way forward from the back of the plane to the open door, the instructor then told me to lean out so that I was jumping hanging mid air, just attached to him by a few clips, he then told me to lean my head back, put my legs under the barrier at the bottom of the plane and put my arms across my chest! Which I did, then within a matter of seconds he jumped...meaning I was going with him, I had no control over when I jumped at all which was a lot better in a way! It took about 3 seconds for me to get over the scary factor, then after that I just enjoyed the freefall, I was so in awe of the stunning surroundings that I forgot to open my arms when the instructor tapped me, and only did so at the third time of asking, haha! I was freefalling for 45 seconds and it was awesome, falling through the air towards the ground at 200 kph, it was all over so quickly however and what seemed like instantly the parachute opened...which is a good thing I suppose but I was enjoying the freefall! Once the parachute opened it pulled me up a little bit as we came to an abrupt halt after falling so fast but I felt so safe which is strange really considering I was still thousands of feet up in the air! It was freezing during freefall and it took me a while to realise that it was best if I kept my mouth closed as it made my mouth so dry and caused me to pull many a funny face (check out the embarrassing videos and pictures)! It was a further 4 to 5 minutes back to the ground after the parachute had opened, as we descended slowing back to earth, this gave me an opportunity to take some pictures of the scenic surroundings as we were allowed to take our own cameras down with us, we just had to tuck them into our jumpsuits during freefall!Once we got closer to the ground my instructor started to spin us round in circles which actually made me feel a little sick if the truth is known but I was enjoying it none the less, the landing was very smooth, the instructor told me to lift my legs up which I did he then brought us to a halt by sliding his legs along the floor, then when we had stopped he told me to stand up and it was simple as that, I had assumed I would be scraping my legs along the ground as we landed but it couldn't have been simpler, and I had just accomplished the second best skydive in the world, seconds only to Mount Everest which would set you back a hefty 30 grand to skydive over so I had actually just accomplished the best commercial skydive in the world as not many people could afford to do it at Mount Everest!
We did another short interview upon landing, and then we were driven back to the skydiving base which was a short 5 minute drive from the random field where we landed, I was completely buzzing for hours after though as the adrenaline rush was awesome, the skydive was definitely the best thing I have even done in my life and although it is something that is described as a once in a lifetime opportunity I would totally have got back in the plane and gone straight back up, the feeling it gives you is immense and it is impossible to put into words just how good it was, you simply just have to be brave enough to do one to understand where I'm coming from, as it isn't scary one bit, just incredible but it's over so quickly and is like a blur when I look back on it! Once we were back at the skydiving centre we went back into the office to pay and then got to watch out embarrassing videos for the first time, I also decided to splash out on a hoodie as well which set me back NZ$80 :O
We then waited for the two girls to return from their jump, then we got back into the minibus to be returned to the ever so tiny Franz Josef Village, we also saw the group of four from our kiwi bus that were about to do their skydives arrive as we left, after the short 25 minute drive, we arrived back in the township and were taken straight into the Franz Josef Glacier Guides office to confirm the next day's hikes and make our payment! After a short briefing we were then taken to our hostels where we eventually got to check in at around 4.30pm and collect our bags! It turned out to be a very expensive day for me as I had to pay for my accommodation for two nights as well! We stayed at Rainforest Retreat which was a really nice hostel with excellent facilities! After chucking my bags in my dorm I grabbed a bite to eat as I was starving as I had missed lunch due to our skydive being over lunch time then I saw people from my bus so I was excited to tell them all about the dive! After that I had to nip to the local supermarket which unsurprisingly was not the biggest considering it was the only supermarket in a town which was made up of a couple of shops and bars, and few houses as there are more tourists in the village every night than there are residents! After getting some essentials as well as two doughnuts which were reduced to celebrate my skydiving success I headed back to the hostel to get my usual dinner of pasta and sauce under way, the kitchen was chaos that night, as there were hundreds of people staying there so although it was big it was still crowded due to the sheer volume of people staying there!
After my dinner I sat down in the TV lounge with my doughnuts and a cup of tea to watch 'Meet The Parents', there wasn't free tea at the hostel but I had teabags on me as a couple....maybe even seven, had managed to get into my food bag...goodness knows how lol! After this I went to bed after one of my best days travelling to date and having accomplished something I could only have dreamed of just months before...jumping out of a plane! It felt like such a normal thing to do though as most people on the kiwi bus were doing it but when you talk to people back home they are astounded by the achievement! The next day was to be just as good however!
It was an early start to the day as I was up at around 8 ready to be at the glacier centre by 9 to begin the day's activities! The whole of our bus was doing the full day hike like me except a few who were doing the ice climbing instead! Upon arrival we were given a sheet to read through which gave us a bit of background info about the days hiking whilst also stating a few health and safety warnings! After reading through the information, a guide came over to give us some tags which we then exchanged for clothing as all equipment to be used throughout the day for free, the first port of call was the over trousers booth, where we exchanged our tag for thetrousers, then next we collected out shoes, socks and crampons, after putting my shoes on I realised I hadn't put my socks on so had to take them off and go through the procedure again, I was then told that my bag was not suitable to take hiking as it went across my shoulder so I had to hire a backpack which meant more money for them! The next booth gave us our hats, gloves and jackets, once they were all on we were set for our hike and all looked like the height of fashion!
We boarded a bus which took us to the car park nearby the glacier where we began the walk to the foot of the glacier which seemed so close but took 40 minutes to walk to as the distance was an optical illusion as the glacier was so big! Once at the foot of the glacier we were split up into 6 groups and we had to choose which group we wanted to go in, with group one going at the fastest pace and being the most demanding with group six being at the other end of the scale! I chose to go in group one as someone that had been on the previous days hike recommended this group as it went to the best areas of the glacier supposedly! Being in the first group meant we were the first ones to start our ascent up the glacier, the first part was not on ice so we only had to wear our boots but after a five minute walk we reached the ice and had to attach our crampons to our boots after a short demonstration as without these you have no grip on the ice whatsoever! Then from here we started our day long hike up to a notable height on the glacier! Our team leaded was a young lad from Spain...I think, and he was new to the job so he was undergoing training under the guidance of a woman who had been a guide for 5 years, so she thought she was Miss know it all, and was really bossing the young Spaniard around and telling him off when he made mistakes, I thought she was being a little harsh on him to be honest!
The crampons meant we all had great grip on the ice and so we started to climb the glacier which was not as steep as I thought it would be, the leader was carrying a huge ice axe which was proper heavy so that he could cut a route in the ice for us as all the groups go a different route up every day as the glacier is always changing! We hiked right to the heart of the glacier which superb scenery all around us, the excellent step-cutting abilities of our guides meant that we could travel through the most spectacular and challenging glacial terrain imaginable, as we worked our way up we got taken through ice tunnels, and had to climb up an ice face only holding onto a rope, as it reached lunchtime we found a stop to sit and eat whilst the guides went on without us to continue cutting a pathway for before they returned half hour later to collect us so that we could continue our hike after refuelling, we were all quiet pleased to be on the move again as the ice certainly made our arses cheeks slightly chilly! We passed through some more ice tunnels and through many tight gaps that we had to walk sideways through as there were panels of ice on either side only centimetres apart! We were also given our own ice axes slightly smaller than the guides but looked great in a photo, and were good fun for first couple of minutes when we were hacking away at the ice but after that they sort of lost their novelty yet we still had to carry them!
We then reached what is usually the high point, but the guides told us that if we waited for 10 minutes they may be able to create a path and take us to a new high point, higher than anyone's ever been before...so they say! We were waiting for 45 minutes in the same spot and all the groups had caught up with us so all the guides were cutting away at a new pathway together, but eventually they were successful thankfully as we were all getting quite restless as we were so uncomfortable and were freezing cold sitting on the ice, but it was worth the wait as we literally had to squeeze through a virtually nonexistent gap which was unbelievably cold and the hold on to a rope as we went down the glacier, it was real good fun, but after that we were at the highest point we were going to and had to start our descent, it didn't take anywhere near as long to get down as it did to get up to the high point as we went down a more direct route but it still took more than an hour to reach the bottom! Just before we took off our crampons we posed for a picture with the glacier in the background as a group and then had the daunting 40 minute walk back to the car park where the bus was waiting for us, it seemed to take so much longer to walk back there than it had done earlier on in the day when we walked to the glacier from the car park probably as we were all knackered, it was such a relief to get back to the car park to be able to go to the toilet as we had not been able to go all day as there were no toilets on the glacier obviously so I was desperate so it was good to relive myself before I boarded the bus and we took the short trip back to the Glacier office where we gave back all our rented equipment which was all skanky and sodden wet and freezing cold, but it felt do could to get out of the gear especially the boots after being in it all day, as we didn't return to the office until gone six! It marked the end of a truly immense two nights at Franz Josef Village, and now you should understand why I loved the place so much and why it was my favourite place in the whole of New Zealand that I visited because the activities that I did were truly amazing!
From the glacier office we took the short walk back to the hostel where I went straight into the kitchen to make my dinner as I was starving, and then just had another chilled out evening in front of the TV, as I was knackered from the immense two days that I had had at Franz Josef!
Definitely a village I will never forget....... =D
Love Toby xxx
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