It's still really beautiful but COLD!!
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2008
1
23
Trip End
May 2008
Franz Josef Glacier, South Island,
New Zealand
Monday, May 5, 2008
Had a great but fairly lazy day today. Could have gone on a hike on the glacier but decided I really am not fit enough , so did 3 little self guided walks and got some fab views for a change of the mountains and walked to a place called Wombat pools having to negotiate a fallen tree across the path on the way. I did think "bugger" when I came across it but would not be thwarted, and as I couldn't get over it without risk of injury I limbo danced under it instead
Amazing blue water at Hokitika gorge
. I say limbo danced....more like undignified scrambling, but you can imagine me limbo dancing if it gives you a laugh! Hopefully, if there are other people interested, I should be doing the "grand tour" helicoptor ride over the 2 glaciers and over to Mount Cook and also a peek at the Tasman (fingers crossed) After that I shall be heading towards Hokitika for at least a couple of nights b4 wending my way up to Nelson and then hopping back on to North Island to Auckland and home - eek!
The jet boating on lake Wanaka and the Clutha river was fab tho not so sure my back now agrees!The jet boat, a NZ invention can proceed on just 10mm of water, and pumps thru the equivalent water content of an average swimming pool every minute - astonishing I know! We zapped down certain bits of the river heading straight for the trees, the bank etc and then swerved away at the last minute. We also did some pretty full-on 360 degree turns which are spectacular even if your stomach and neck don't necessarily agree at the time or even a bit later!
The drive from Wanaka to Franz Josef was stunning -quite a few hairpins so some seriously slow driving of necessity, 25 and 15 km/ph is very slow but any faster and you've sudenly an uninterrupted view of the mountains and a ruddy great drop beneath you!
Franz Josef Glacier
P.S I did do the helicoptor ride (another first) and it was great. I did feel a little bit pukey at a couple of stomach lurching moments and in fact I'm sure I did scream at one point when we had been up high and then we crept up and over a precipice and then plunged down -yikes!! I say I think I did as I had headphones on so not sure how audible it was!Now in Hokitika (great place with a very interesting South African stone painter with whom I chatted at some length one day) sitting writing this with a view of the sea and Keane playing in the background. Neil, one of the owners is from Biddulph and is quite a card. Kerry his wife from Congleton is an artist and her work adorns the walls and nooks and crannies of the place . They also have a Australian Kelpie (dog) called Sid who is lovely and getting a lot of attention ( Liz G)
Now I've not yet spoken about birds of prey have I? They are here in abundance often to be found in the middle or the side of the road munching on a squashed possum. Whilst there are scores of birds in the air there are also scores of squashed furry bodies underfoot (or under wheel I should say) As I must pass on average every day about 20 such squashed bodies I have to wonder who is doing the squashing given that it's not me? I have to my hideous embarrassment nearly run over 2 birds of prey when they took off from the carion a little too late... Anyway back to possums
Hmm, works better in the water...
. I saw a great t-shirt the other day that said "Possums, New Zealands little road bumps". Now don't go all glassy eyed about the little critters they are a furry pain in the backside! At the last count (whoever did that) there were estimated to be between 65 and 70 million possums and betweeen them they devastate great tracts of native bush ruining the habitats of indiginous birds and mamamals and are quite frankly a major introduced curse. In fact, one of their most heinous crimes is that they eats birds eggs and kill young birds including the endangered kiwi -there! that's how evil they are! And did you know that there is a dark side to NZders ? They will actually go out of their way to run over a possum over - I know! So, given that possums are nocturnal I imagine enraged car driving NZders going out at night and swerving and running the little critters over determined to rid NZ of this pest -scary? I think so!!Sheep is the next topic.You know all this talk of sheep whenever NZ is mentioned? Well I have news for you..... cattle are fast taking over where once were sheep. I didn't think I'd seen too many and when chatting to a farmer was told that a lot of producers are going over to dairy as it's more profitable. Also prevalent in certain areas are deer and alpacca .Not only does the geography of the place confuse you as to which country you're in but the animals don't help in some instances either!
How's that for a still lake?
Now in Nelson and hopefully taking a trip to Abel Tasman national park tomorrow. Have been pottering about in Nelson this morning and this avo went to the magnificent World Of Wearableart (that's how they put it) or WOW for short . What a stunning collection - I was really blown away. Staying at yet another great backpackers called the Bug (as in Travel Bug) with a lovely couple and a black n white and spotty greyhound called Yukon. Anthony and Steph are our hosts and where does Anthony come from? Drum roll.... Oadby!! Just how crazy is that? He went to Gartree, the same high school as me and also worked in the Oadby Owl (pub) like what I did - this was some years apart from when I was attending both institutions however as he is but a youthful 32.Did go kayaking in in Abel Tasman National Park -it was a lovely morning and I was paired up mwith the instructor as there was only 2 other peeps a Belgian couple on their honeymoon (apparently 2 man kayaks are known in the trade as divorce boats but Kelly my guide decided not to appraise them of this fact -after all they'd only been married 2 weeks!)
Had a very international evening meal at the Bug the other night -we were coralled together by Clive from the UK and we ended up with 2 from England, 1 from Canada, 1 from Israel, 1 from Germany and 1 Taiwanese. Most interesting and then "Z" the guy from Israel announces it's his 25th birthday - little tinker
Jet boating at Wanaka - scenery huh?
. Later on that evening Anthony appears with homemade apple crumble and ice cream and dammit! I'm too full to partake -curses! (free food of any description if a big deal when you're backpacking trust me) Played scrabble against Jenna (Canada) the other night and a mother and daughter combo from England. I was spectacularly useless and was last both times but d'you what? I wasn't really that bothered - relaxed or wot?From Nelson I wandered over to Picton amidst , yes you've guesed it, some spectacular scenery (for a change). Even tho at the start of the journey the weather was foul it brightened and I found myself a great backpackers called Seqouia Lodge that does free chocolate pud and icecream at 8pm each night -yum! They also do free breakfasts in Winter (that's from May in NZ) and chuck out is 11am instead of 10am -every xtra bit of sleep counts if you're not in a tearing hurray! Caught the ferry and had a very pleasant sailing to Wellington, the views of the Queen Charlotte Sound on the drive over and on the ferry journey were just splendid (running out of adjectives again) On arrival in Wellie, drove for a few hours arriving at Wanganui at Tamara Lodge where I had a lovely double room to myself, heated a tin of soup had a quick chat to an Aussie couple and hit the sack. Up and out by 9am the next morning and arrived back in Auckland about 3.30pm and then after dropping in on Phil's parents drove up to the bach at Snell's beach and hit the deck
Jetboating - attractive in beige beanie!
. Parcelled up more stuff I couldn't get in my rucksacks the following day and posted then to myself, proceeding to cram everything else in - altho I did discard some t-shirts and a pair of trousers (well done!)The journey home was long and after about 15 or so hours you wish you could be beamed home as in "beam me up Scotty". At the airport at 10am, flew at 1pm -straight thru flight to KL Malaysia 11hrs, 3 hours at KL then 13 hours thru to Heathrow - bit knackering -arrived Swindon yesterday at 9am .
Drove my car; 12 yr old Renault Clio, and it felt broken, it drove like a tank!! Today has been better and feels more normal althoi twice I couldn't remember how to get into reverse -duh! and the indicator is on the other side so the windscreed wipers have been on once or twice for no particular reason!
When I was in NZ I was driving a much newer Daihatsu Scirion whaich was a very light touch and it turned on a sixpence, or spun off a gravel road into a ditch with the car landing on the drivers side!! - that was about 4 weeks ago and I didn't mention b4 it as mum reads this , but I told her this morning so I can share that bit of "excitement" with you now. That was a moment when I did feel 12,000 miles from home as I hung sideways in my seatbelt thinking simultaneously shit! and thank goodness I seem to be all right
Kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park
! The car was pulled out of the dich by a few burly blokes and a towrope and some nice peeps invited me to their home for a cupa and later for supper . Everyone who went past stopped to offer help and everyone ws so nice it was almost worth having the accident for all the positives in which it resulted. Car was a bit damaged but drivable but changed it over a few days later as the overtaking mirror was completety smashed off and the driver's door damaged. You don't quite realise how much you rely on an overtaking mirror til you haven't got one! Think that's about it may do one further blog pulling some rivettinf stats and profound thoughts together in a week or so but now shall upload the photso/
Lots of love from back in Blighty KiwiSal XX
Comments
Wow
Hey Sal
Sounds like you had a fantastic trip filled with beautiful sights and lots of excitement.
Looking foward to hearing if you're planning another expedition?
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