Friday July 12th
Nobody came to terrorise us in the night, surprise surprise! Left by 8.30 to drive to fur seal look out and cape foulwind. It was freezing cold with frost on the ground. We walked perhaps 5 minutes down the track before a helicopter came over head which seemed to be carrying things for people along the track to build. Around the corner we found the track was blocked off and we were unable to go through due to department of conservation work. It was disappointing but we were also very cold and eager to keep moving so it wasn't dwelled on for long.
We then made our way down to the pancake rocks and blow holes at punakaiki. They had a cafe there which to my delight sold "pancake stacks", but we resisted them. After getting takeaway tea and coffee we set off on the half hour loop around the rocks. They were good to look at, they're layers of rocks all stacked together...like pancakes no less. They're all along that part of the coast, the sea was pretty rough and you could see the beautiful mountains in the background as you can all the way along the coastal drive. They don't really know for sure what causes the layering, they say something about layers of limestone and mud stone over millions of years and the mudstone has eroded more making the pancake effect more obvious.
The sea has been steadily wearing it all down over the years so there are lots of caves and holes through the rock, and the force of the waves pushes the water through the tunnels causing it to spurt out of little holes. We didn't see much of it happening due to the sea not being quite rough enough but we saw some and it was great to see!
After that we continued our drive down to greymouth, admiring the coastal views the whole way. We were considering going to Arthur's pass but hesitating due to the time it would take, so we went for some advice in one of the information centres. We were advised it may be better going from the east side once we reach Christchurch so that helped us decide the rest of our afternoon. We found a McDonald's and sat with a smoothie to use the wifi for half a hour or so, I managed to kind of catch nanna and my mum and also had a message from Jennifer and my dad which was nice.
We drove across streams and rivers, lots of signs for old gold mines and that kind of thing down the coast too. There seems to be a lot more sheep in the south than the north. We drive past a lot of horses a gorgeous pale blonde sort of colour , donkeys and orchards growing apples and kiwi fruit. There are lots of very tall thin trees and tall hedges too.
Driving to the hokitika gorge took us out of our way slightly but it was worth it during the drive. We drove through small lanes but surrounded by open space, watching the mountains get closer and closer, the birds flying overhead. We were listening to The Lord of the rings on audio book as well, as we were yesterday, so the time passes quite quickly although we drive for quite some time.
Once there the walking track went through beautiful greenery with moss and vines and the smell of earth all over. You could see the river through the gaps, it was a brilliant turquoise blue a colour I don't think either of us have seen in water before. Then we came across a swing bridge going over to the other side so you could see just how beautiful the water was. The reason it's so blue has something to do with a mixture of rock "flour", melted ice with all the minerals in it straight from the mountains and a steady flow of river water. It was cold but not horrible like earlier in the day, it just felt crisp and fresh. We spent some time admiring it and taking photos before heading back up the trail to the van.
After that it was just a straight forward drive no stops to franz Joseph. We got there at around 5.30 just as it was starting to get dark, we decided which tour we wanted t go on the next day and had a nice hot chocolate in a cafe. The views around there are lovely with the mountains all around, but I've said that about a lot of places now!
We then drove to a spot about 15 minutes away to a camping spot that was 6 dollars each to park, it was just a reserve in a load of bush. The sky around there was the most amazing we have ever seen. It was so dark you could see so many stars, really bright, and you could even see the Milky Way so clearly. Liam spent a long time attempting to get a shot with his stupid big camera but it turns out only the smaller one seems to be able to capture it properly. And that's out of battery and we've not been able to find a new charger for it yet, so we went the evening with no photo evidence of the beauty. Finding a new charger is back as the number one priority if we are getting sky's like the one we saw that night.
Saturday July 13th
As usual at the moment it was very cold this morning. We had to be at the meeting place for 8.45 so we set off at 8.30am. We met our kind who was a man from Devonshire who had found work in franz Joseph a couple of years ago and never left. We got kitted up in woollen socks, big boots, over trousers and jackets, as well as our own layers and sunglasses. We were briefed on helicopter safety and how to but the metal crampons on our boots once out on the ice.
The helicopter ride was short but so great. I got to sit in the front and the view of the glacier as you flew over the rise was something else. It's cushioned in between two sides of mountain, flowing down like a funnel. It moves about a meter a day in the winter and up to 5 in the summer so it's constantly changing and shifting. The mountains either side are actually eroding by 10mm a year, but the shift of the pacific and the australian plates crushing together causes it to build by the same amount so it's balancing out at the moment. You don't realise quite how absolutely massive the expanse of ice is until you spot the first half of your group already waiting for you down on the ice, little ants in the midst of all the ice and the mountains towering over either side. A few million years ago the ice was so high there were no mountains, it was all completely covered.
You land on the ice and walk down away from the wind of the helicopter. After spending a few moments putting on the crampons we set off up the glacier. It wasn't long before we were feeling warm, it's pretty hard work! You have to stamp your feet with most steps to get a grip in the ice and we went up quite high and quite steep for some time. The ice is like waves, crashing down from the top in peaks and troughs, you hear water around you constantly where glacier ice is melting through crevasses and little streams its made through the ice and down the mountain sides. A couple of times we heard very loud big cracking sounds like thunder where pieces of ice had shifted and fallen. It's one of the 3 glaciers in the whole world that comes down into a rainforested area, one there, one at fox and one in Argentina. The company we went with are one of only 2 companies that physically chip away the ice to make steps up to the really great stuff, other companies try and find paths around it and often spend hours walking not seeing much if what the guide said is to be believed. They have scouts daily looking at how the terrain is changing and what new shapes have been made in the ice, where it is safe and not safe, then the team will chip away and make a route to the interesting ice formations. We spent about 3 hours walking around up there, looking at all of the waves of ice and little caves and shapes it had moulded. They name all the shapes and areas that form, and there was one cavern they had named the holy grail. The reason for that is because it's one of the best formations they have seen on the glacier, people who have been professionals and on the ice for over 10 years are blown away and excited by it. We were lucky to see it and get to go through because they don't last long before the ice shifts and melts so the structure changes. We slid down an ice slide through a tunnel, we used ropes to help us up and down very steep cut "steps" and we looked out over the glacier at the tremendous views. It was just a wonderful experience and we were sorry it was over. But we did get to go back into the helicopter though so it wasn't all bad!
When we had got all our gear off we went to a cafe in the town. The town is so lovely it's kind of like a little Swiss town in a way with the mountains in view. It was sunny although a bit chilly so we sat by a heat lamp outside using the wifi a bit and treating ourselves to a lunch prepared there instead of our own in the van. After about an hour we drove to the glacial hot pools because entry was included in the price we paid for our glacial hike. It was like a spa place, very nice. There were 3 outside pools, one was 37 degrees, one was 38 and the other was 40. They were so nice especially because the air was cold, my favourite was definitely the hottest one although I don't think Liam would agree with that. He started looking flustered after a very short while in that one! We must have spent over an hour all together before pulling ourselves away knowing we had some driving to do.
On the drive we took a detour to go and see lake Matheson,which I had seen as somewhere to see. We hadn't realised there would be a 20 minute walk through the forest to it before we set off, it was nearing dark by the time we got there and we had run some of it as well. Shame really because the walk would have been gorgeous if we had had the time to stroll down it casually, but it was still a beautiful walk. I thought it was worth it when we got there because the reflections of the mountains and trees in the lake were beautiful, and the sky was just turning a pinky purple behind it where the sun had fallen behind. Liam wasn't quite so sure it was worth the 20 minutes there and back plus the freezing cold but he still thought it was pretty.
From then on it was driving for about 2 hours to the town of haast. It was the worst drive I've done so far, it was dark and the temperature had dropped so there was frost everywhere which made for a slower journey and three times the concentration. We got there eventually though and went to a powered site to top up on electricity and charge some of our things, also we wanted more heating on and toast in the morning!
We had our tea whilst watching prince of Persia on DVD, and eating chocolate courtesy of nanna and grandads birthday present to Liam, before heading to bed around 10pm to look at some of the photos we have taken over the last few days.
