Frozen river at the top
The view from just below the summit.
The walk down was quite a steep one, we reached our hostel just in time for lunch and sat out in the sun enjoying the Rays!
We did our washing (long overdue) and headed to the cinema just as t started to rain. There aren't many indoor activities in Queenstown as its quite akin to a ski resort so this seemed to be the best option I. The bad weather. We saw a kids film, with lots of children in the audience which added to the atmosphere for definite!
This evening we decided we should try the infamous 'fergburger' Something all of our other friends travelling NZ have recommended we do. It didn't disappoint. The meat was juicy and the burger was HUGE! The queue was out the door when we got there but we definitely think it lived up to its reputation.
The menu (note the Big Al)
Big al record (Something ridiculous like one minute 56seconds)
The burger twins
The drive to Franz josef did not disappoint. It was like a scenic guided tour of the Alpine region! john, the bus driver talked us through all the lakes and rivers in the area. We stopped at Lake Wanaka and lake Hawea on our way trough crossing through a town called Haast and multiple gold mining villages. The drive took us 8 hours but it certainly didn't feel that long.
We had a hot chocolate in front of an open fire in one se vice station and sat and watched salmon at a salmon farm at the next.
Lake Wanaka
View from the coach
We arrived at Franz josef to the most perculiar, seemingly haunted, old fashioned hostel so far. A place called 'Chateau Franz' we expected something a little less time warped. We were told we'd booked the 'love shack' but that the love shack was too cold (thank goodness as I don't remember booking that at all!)
There is old memorabilia on every wall and photographs of Victorian people on the glacier (creepy
This evening we walked out into the woods to hopefully spy some glow worms. This was unsuccessful, we made ourselves too scared and gave up and walked home, made for a funny evening nevertheless!
Tomorrow we're hopefully going to do or glacier hike and a walk in the morning ! Can't wait!
We did it! We managed to go on the glacier hike! The first big activity that hasn't been called off by rain, not only that the weather was incredible, not a cloud in the sky.
In the morning we got up to a chilly morning, ice outside and a surprisingly late sunrise. We took a walk to the Franz Josef glacier knowing we had to be back for our helicopter hike at 12pm. The walk was spectacular, with streams running down from the ice, rocks that had fallen from the shist walls of the valley and rai. Forest all around. This area of the South Island measures their rainfall in metres not cn and can have a number of metres in 24 hours!
Just before walking into the glacier floor
You can see the Franz Josef glacier at the top
It got warmer as we walked into the morning sun and we could see the top of the glacier glinting in the sunshine. We didn't walk right up to the ice as we were running out of time but the views made us super excited for our hike later.
We made it to Franz Josef Glacier Guides headquarters just in time, we had or packed lunch and were kitted up for the hike. They gave us hiking boots with crampons to attach, some thick socks, waterproof over trousers and a big jacket to wear. We were also given the warmest gloves we've ever worn (made of merino wool, note to self for duty free later!) and a bumbag and we were off to the helipad
We walked through the rainforest to where the helicopters fly from. There was miss on the trees so absorbent its used in nappies, and ferns poking out from all over. The rainforest opened to a clearing where there were 3 choppers. We all jumped in, to our excitement Amy and I got to sit at the front. The helicopter ride was so cool, the way it hovered as it took off and we glided over the mountains - incredible. We flew up to the glacier and landed on an 'ice pad' where we met our guide 'Rob'. He was to take us on a three hour hike through the icy glacier.
Here's Rob on the glacier
At the beginning of the hike
Crampons!
In a crevasse
Sliding through
In a real ice tunnel!
A little claustrophobic
Up some ice steps
We put on our crampons and off we went. We wandered through huge crevasse's with shiny smooth ice lining them 10ft deep and completely shaded from the sun. The things we saw were amazing, we climbed through tunnels on our knees and shuffled through tight gaps. Rob had carved out ice steps with his pick axe so the walk was easier but the crampons were tricky to master. The walk itself was probably only about 3km but it felt longer and definitely took longer because of the terrain and the footwear !
At the end of the hike we were the last to be helicoptered off the ice, the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping fast. We ended up sat at the front again! Wahoo! And made it back to base safely.
We had free entry to the hot pools at Franz Josef Glacier Guides. These were simar to the ones in rotorua but chlorinated! It was so nice to put your tied legs into the 36, 38 and 40 degree hot water pools after all the walking of today. A perfect way to end a fantastic day :)
No comments:
Post a Comment