Trains, no planes and glaciers - oh my!
Trip Start
Mar 23, 2009
1
11
21
Trip End
Jun 03, 2009
Franz Josef,
South Island,
New Zealand
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Christchurch is on the east coast of the South Island, and the train ends on the west coast in Greymouth. I then took an InterCity Bus from Greymouth down the coast to the Franz Josef glacier.
The Franz Josef is one of three glaciers in the area, which are the only glaciers to form in this southern climate. The West Coast is a rain forest, with lush foliage, forests and waterfalls, and in the middle of all the green are these huge ice mountains - it is amazing!
I checked in to the Franz Josef YHA that evening. After a full day of travel, I walked around the town (which is about 2 blocks, considering everything pretty much centers on tourism for the glacier parks), had dinner and called it a day. The West Coast of South Island is affectionately called the Wet Coast, some areas get 15-20 or more FEET of rain per year. My good luck with weather seemed to be running out, because that evening it started to turn rainy and cold. I had planned to check out the Franz Josef and neighboring Fox glaciers from above, and wanted to take a popular helicopter tour. That evening, though, it looked like the next day's flights would not go, so I had to wait to find out the next day's itinerary.
I woke up to a pretty steady downpour, and when I check in with one of the flight operators, it was definite that all flights were scratched. But, one of the other things I wanted to do was actually climb the glaciers from the base, and those guided walks were still available. I was too late for the full-day option and had to settle for the half day that left at noon. I enjoyed the rest of the quiet, rainy morning to check up on email and pick up some souvenirs.
When I got back to the guide station, it turned out that the some of the other members of the half-day group were people I had met in Rotorua and on the train - it's such a small traveler community! We were all issued hiking boots and rain gear. It was still a pretty steady rain, but the guides assured us that this enhanced the colors of the glacier ice, since sunny days tend to "kill" the ice and the rain brings out the natural blueness. We decided to go with that, as opposed to thinking it was going to be just a really wet hike. We were all prepared to be wet, so with good attitudes, we were all excited to get started.
After hiking about 1.5 km to the glacier base, we strapped on the crampons to our boots so we could confidently climb up and down the ice. I felt significantly hard core about that! We had a great guide, and our group was of course the fastest, so we had the most time to explore, go up and down the ice and through crevasses - it was amazing. We weren't using ropes or climbing sheer ice walls with ice picks or anything, but it was one of the most challenging things I've done and I'm glad to report I had a blast and actually like hiking.
We got back to town, and most hotels and hostels have saunas to recuperate, mine included. After thawing out, I connected with my new friends from the hike for dinner and drinks. Because my time on the South Island seemed to be running out, I'm really glad I decided to stick with a stop at Franz Josef - it was a great new experience in some amazing scenery, with new friends - what more can you ask for?!
The next morning was an early wake up call for the bus to Queenstown and the rest of my week in New Zealand. More from Queenstown to follow!
Stephanie
Comments
Free-e-e-e-e-ez-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-ing
Wow, you are so hard-core. Is it as cold as it looks?
Re: Free-e-e-e-e-ez-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-ing
It really wasn't that bad - it was raining a lot but the temperature was ok, maybe mid 50's or better? The glacier is right next to the rainforest, which is green and lush. Crazy juxtaposition! And yes, I am extremely hard-core ;)