New Zealand Part 4

Day 5: (Narrated by Shawn)

Friday January 19th.

Happy Anniversary...

... This was a big day, and one we were both looking forward to with great anticipation. We decided, after much debate in plotting our course around the country, to have a kind of 2-day anniversary celebration. The first plan was to head south along the coast to glacier country in Westland National Park and do a half day hike on one of the two large glaciers that highlight the park, The Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers. And the second was to take an overnight cruise in the Milford Sound in Fjordland National Park. After looking at both glacier options, I decided to book us a trip with the Franz Josef Tour Group. The drive to the glacier from Greymouth takes about 2 hours., but it is an easy drive, with lots of straight open stretches of road allowing some real zipping along! That is of course, unless you are stopped by a herd of cattle crossing the road!

About a half hour from the glaciers the road starts to get more interesting, as the flat fields, low brush, and small hills changed dramatically into more serious rises covered in lush temperate rain forest. It is like we entered a mythical world. For all you Tolkien fans, it was one of the most Lord of the Rings moments of the trip. Truly like we were in the misty mountains! Although really impossible to tell from the road, the mountains on your left as you head south are the foothills of the largest mountains of the Southern Alps. These peaks remain permantly snow covered and are the source of many of the country's glaciers. What is really interesting is that while most of the world's glaciers seem to be in recession. The Franz Josef and the Fox glaciers are still growing. What is more, they are two of only a handful of glaciers that drop so far and come so close to the ocean in such temperate climates. As I understand it, only glaciers in Patagonia have similar qualities. From its origin high in the Southern Alps, the Franz Josef Glacier descends deep into the lush rainforest of Westland’s National Park, from a height of 2700m (~8800 feet) above sea level to only 240m (~800 feet) in as little as 11 km, making it the worlds steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier! Woo hoo Game on!!

We arrived in the little town of Franz Josef with 40 minutes to spare. Of course, like so many places on the South Island, I use of the word "town" loosely. This settlement was little more than a quarter mile stretch of civilization and about a dozen buildings. Sadly mother nature was not being kind, and the surrounding high mountains were completely covered in clouds and the low peaks were fighting to emerge from the soft tendrils of fog that were embracing them. My heart was racing! We packed our bag with water and power bars for the adventure to come, and had enough time left over to get ourselves some meat pies from gas station made in Phil's Bakery in Greymouth! It was the perfect energy boost. I mean, there is nothing like a half pound of beef and gravy in a crisp pastry shell to get you started for strenuous exercise!! What were we thinking?! The Tour Group is exceptionally well run, and one I would highly recommend for those of you considering a trip to these parts! They provided water proof pants, boots, jackets, stylish red fanny packs with size-appropriate ice talonz, as well as mittens and hats if we so chose.

They packed about 40 people in a bus with us that were later divided into 3 groups for the glacier ascent. The sky was gray when we started, but we didn't let that bother us. The bus ride wa short, and took us about 10 minutes outside of town. About halfway there we caught our first glimpse of the glacier through the lush foliage around the road. It was just a tease, but enough to get our hearts pounding, and we both looked at each other smiling! The beauty of this experience is hard to describe, and pictures and even video probably won't do it justice. It is otherworldly in the truest sense of the word. We started walking up a very modest incline into a beautiful rejuvenating rain forest. Though young, the canopy was developing nicely, and most of the higher sites were initially hid from view. Within a short while though, we stepped out of the green and into a wide open valley in full view of the glacier a few kilometers away. It took my breath away, and to our delight, we noticed that although we were surrounded by clouds above, the sky above the glacier was starting to clear and blue was beginning to peak through! Someone was smiling down on us!

The valley floor was cut in half by a braided river originitating from beneath the glacier itself, emerging out of a 5 story tunnel at its base! The mountains rising up on either side of the glacier itself were very steep and rugged, but still had lush forest coverage on the lower elevations. There were also a number of waterfalls streaming down their rock faces, some barely a trickle, and others crashing more dramatically to the valley floor. As we got closer, we started to see a number of warning signs that caused a nervous chuckle. Nothing like seeing 4 large caution signs with pictograms of how you might die in the adventure you were about to take! We pressed on putting our full faith in our guides! Even sitting within a half kilometer of the glacier's face, it was hard to grasp just how massive this ice sheet was! Things had warmed up considerably by the time we reached the access point, and we decided to take off a few layers before strapping on the ice talonz and moving on. We took the advanced group and were the first to step on to the ice. The hike/climb is well organized, and is designed to be user friendly for the less experienced among us. They had make-shift stairs cut into various faces with guide rope and bridges placed over areas that were more dangerous.

The ice of the first parts of the hike were more gray than blue, as the dust, rocks, and small boulders the glacier has been pushing out of its way were collecting in the crevaces near the bottom. The higher we got though,the more stunning it became, and there are few words to describe it. By the time we were about 10 minutes into the ascent, the sun had won the battle, and the clouds were burning off fast. The gray ice gave way to white, and the white soon gave way to a blue that became more brilliant and beautiful the higher we got. When staring into these blue sections, you could see spectacular patterns and markings deep within it. If that wasn't enough, the rapid movement, the warm sun, and time had molded the surface of the ice into a countless variety of shapes and textures. The combination was truly awe-inspiring. If you ever have the chance to see a glacier, or even better, get on one, I suggest you jump at the chance. We hiked for about 2 hours on the ice, over crevaces, over ridges, and through tunnels, probably getting up about 1000 feet before eventually turning back. We were sad to leave, but so happy to have had the opportunity.

By the time we reached the valley floor again we were full on sweating, and we took off all the remaining layers and even the jacket to try to cool off before packing ourselves back in the bus! Phil and I were stragglers on the hike back though, as the entire valley was bathed in sunlight now, and the views were even better than when we first arrived. It was very hard to tear ourselves away!

Once back at the car, we drove for another half hour or so to the Fox Glacier, and figured we should at least take a look, since it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The drive up to this glacier was a little more interesting since we were now driving through well established rain forest. The other fun thing was they had signs posted along the approach showing you how far the glacier had advanced at various pounts in history. Just before the glacier, we passed a pond on our left with some of the most brilliant blue and green water we have ever seen. To this day we have no idea what it was that gave the water this color, but it was gorgeous! You'll see the pictures soon. The Fox Glacier is absolutely beautiful and I'm sure we would have had as much fun here had we decided to hike this one. After a few photo-ops, we moved on, since we had a 4-5 hour drive south the Queenstown!


About a third of the way down from Franz Josef, we hit the town of Haast, the last coastal town before diving inland through the Southern Alps. We figured we'd gas up and have some food, since it was going to be a long stretch before hitting Queenstown. Although large on the map, Haast is so small, that we actually drove by it the first time not realizing it was actually the entire town! Our only food option here was Smith's Tavern. There are few words to describe this dive hick watering hole.... oh, did I say that? The deer and goat heads adorning every wall space and antlers hanging from all of the exposed roof beams should have been enough of a warning sign not expect great things, but we didn't want to judge a book by its cover! Well we should have! Poor Phil's seafood platter, ended up being a giant bowl of DEEP fried batter with little seafood bits buried deep within! He suffered through a few pieces before I ordered up a steak so we could leave on a happier note. This was not the romantic anniversary dinner we had in mind! The pictures of the summer festival showing a group of local women leaning over plucking ducks was the icing on the cake, and we high tailed it out of there!

The pain of Smithy's was soon forgotten though, and in short order the landscape started to look like something out of the movies!! The mountains were ragged and rocky and the higher elevations were still coated with last winter's snow.The pain of Smithy’s was soon forgotten, as we drove further inland into the Southern Alps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Alps towards Queenstown. Within minutes we found ourselves surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery we would see on our trip. A mountain river roared through the valley between huge ragged snow-capped peaks. Mist hung over the surface of the water highlighted in places by sun beams breaking through the clouds above. In places where the sun found the water, it was illuminated a stunning blue I have never seen in such waters before. The river soon turned away from the road leaving golden mountain fields in its place whose tall grasses were dancing wildly in the winds racing through the valley. It couldn’t get any better… could it?

We stopped for gas in a little town… I should say, in a little building complex that doubled as a town. It was all weathered and rustic like something out of a western movie. It had 2 small self-serve gas pumps outside under a drive up awning, and a little convenience store / restaurant / post office / inn within the building itself. I didn’t see a school, but I’m sure it must have been out back!

We got back on the road and continued the adventure to Queenstown. The mountains on our right were great, but the mountains beyond were tremendous, with higher more beautiful snow-capped elevations peaking through the valleys in between. It turns out we were driving just to the east of the northern most aspect of Mount Aspiring National Park: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/national-parks/mount-aspiring/mount-aspiring.cfm

The road continued south, and before long the view opened up ahead and we found ourselves hugging the eastern banks of Lake Wanaka: http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/regions/wanaka/wanaka-home.cfm This is New Zealand’s 3rd largest lake, and a sight to behold. What was amazing that was except for the road we were driving on, the lake seemed completely unspoiled. There were no signs of civilization anywhere, except for the town of Wanaka at its southern banks, which we stumbled upon later! We couldn’t help but stop every 5 minutes to take in the views, as each turn of the road showed off something better than the moment before. About halfway down the eastern shore, we were bummed to find that the road turned sharply left up a hill through a small valley away from the lake. We had no time to mourn the loss of the view though, as we crested the small hill and saw one of the most breathtaking views of the whole vacation. There ahead was Lake Hawea: http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/lakehawea/ , Wanaka’s sister lake. Because the sun was starting to set at that point, and because we approached the lake from the west, every rocky crevice of the entire mountainous eastern shore ahead of us was illuminated a warm golden brown. There are no words…

After taking a long relaxing moment, we continued on. The road drove along the western shores of Lake Hawea to its southern bank and beyond. There the we followed along the other side of the mountains along Lake Wanaka’s eastern shore which took us around to the southern bank where we found the cozy little town of Wanaka. This is a must stop for anyone traveling in the area. It provides great access to Mount Aspiring National Park, it has a all kind of lake sports to offer, and it is a charming town to simply stroll around. They have a scenic beach and park along the waterfront, and a stretch of modern restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating and spectacular lake and mountain views. We decided to stop here instead of rushing to Queenstown to have ourselves a proper anniversary dinner while we still had some light. After some consideration, we decided to try the Reef Seafood Restaurant:
http://www.wanaka-info.co.nz/restaurants.php?id=23
, since it was on the second floor and we were all about getting the best views we could to catch the last of the sunset over the lake! The staff was friendly, the ambiance warm and inviting, and the views remarkable, with huge glass panels so clear they almost looked invisible… They were so convincingly clear, in fact, that some poor Belgian tourist walked right into one next to us trying to take a picture, and shattered an entire panel!! Um, Wow!!! After what looked like an uncomfortable conversation, which I am sure included how they were going to pay for the damage, the mood settled again, and we had a wonderful, romantic dinner!

As the last of the light was fading, we said goodbye to Wanaka and hit the road for the last hour of driving to Queenstown. Queenstown sits at the north eastern bend of of the beautiful Lake Wakatipu:
http://www.experiencequeenstown.co.nz/southern-lakes-region/lake-wakatipu/
We didn’t see the lake in the evening, but the town was great. It is much more commercial than Wanaka, but still has a lot of charm and character. There are countless shops, restaurants, and bars scattered throughout the downtown, and the cutest little casino on the waterfront, and for Friday night, the town was hopping! There were people everywhere, which we weren't used to!! We continued past the bustling town center and up a small hill to our final resting place of the evening,
The Heritage Hotel Queenstown:
http://www.nz-holiday.co.nz/heritage-queenstown/default.asp This hotel is fantastic, and one I highly recommend for anyone visiting the area. It is gorgeous, well-appointed, and inexpensive with ridiculous views of the mountains and lake. Our room was spacious and beautiful, with a private balcony out back overlooking a mountain creek, and giant bathroom. We took a well earned hot shower, put our feet up on the bed, and resigned ourselves to a night in. It was already a long day, and we were exhausted. Instead, we opened one of the wines we picked up along the way, and made a toast to a great day, a fantastic trip, and to our love… what better way to cap off the first year with the man you love… thank you Phil for an amazing journey so far!!