We have been moving faster since leaving Wanaka and have been really enjoying the trip back to the North. The rain was pouring when we left Wanaka and it did not let up all day! Luckily we arrived at a lovely hostel in the Fox Glacier township, it had a huge TV room with over 200 DVDs available to rent. Amongst others we watcher Touching the Void - if anyone has seen it they will know it is not the best thing to watch when you are planning to go walking on glaciers! In true West Coast style (they get 5m of rain a year! - London gets 0.6m!) it poured all night and was still pouring in the morning so we stayed in bed watching rubbish UK TV (why would you buy and import 'Tenants from Hell?' A quick let up allowed us to go down and view the impressive glacier and some very impressive waterfalls. A pleasant afternoon was spent chatting with others in the hostel - including a guy who had cycled from Auckland! We spent the evening watching the All Blacks get beaten in the rugby! But, alas, it was South Africa that dealt the blow not England!
We awoke to glorious weather on Sunday and walked around Lake Matheson - famous for its views of Mount Cook (we are on the otherside of it!) and went back to the glacier as we could get closer thanks to receding rivers. We then drove 25km north to Franz Josef Glacier and booked ourselves on a full day hike for the next day.
Our glacier hike on Franz Josef glacier was truely remarkable and one of the best things we have done in New Zealand. Our guide, Bruce (from Bury St.Edmunds - for those that don't know that's 25mins from Soham!), led the way cutting steps with his axe as we climbed up the face of the glacier, giving us a good geography lesson along the way. Once at the top we began "free guiding" along less formed paths, squeezing (literally squeezing!) through crevasses and climbing over ice walls. It was all fantastic and great views were in abundance throughout the day. Ruff in particular enjoyed the day and didn't need crampons like the rest of us thanks to his four sturdy legs!
On Tuesday we set off across Arthurs Pass to get back to Christchurch. A beautifully scenic road, the highlight of which (so far) was stopping at a scenic lookout, only to be surrounded by 10 or more Keas! Keas are rare alpine parrots found only in New Zealand. They are one of the most intelligent birds in the world and their intelligence matches that of the most sophisticated monkeys! They were incredibly tame and great at posing for photos. Although we had to watch out as they tried to demolish our car!
We are currently staying in another lovely hostel in Arthurs Pass village after a day of beautiful walks and more Kea photography (they are awesome birds - they really really are!) and tomorrow will finish driving across the pass and arrive back in Christchurch before heading on Friday for Picton and the ferry back to the North Island! We have certainly enjoyed the South, but the warmth of the North and the trip to Australia are beckoning!
Bye for now
Love
Laura, Niall & Ruff
1 comment:
Hi Guys,
We met these Keas too. Tried to take off my windscreen wipers. Pesky fellers!Great to hear things still going well. Went Kayaking on sunday down the Sure and hiking last night.
Be in touch soon.
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