We were up at about 7 a.m and enjoyed our breakfast basket
of goods which had been delivered the night before. It contained cereal,
yoghurt, bread, preserves, orange juice and milk. There was a toaster in the
room so we could make toast and also a coffee machine as well as a French
press. Truly very civilized.
We packed again and then walked to the Expedition Center to
check in with for our Glacier Valley Walk
There are two glaciers within a short distance of one another, the Fox
Glacier and the Frans Josef Glacier. We were to explore the area around the
Frans Josef Glacier but not actually walk on the glacier. There are many trips
that can be taken from this place including those by helicopter and aircraft
and there are also those that actually walk on the glacier. All of these are
much more strenuous and our walk was to be less so, well we will see about
that!! We checked in and were given a wristband which we then had to scan at a
laptop. When scanned the screen popped up with your name and many questions
about your health and awareness of the factors of the walk. I ticked “No’ to almost all the
answers except, “Have you ever had knee surgery?”. Having ticked that as a
‘Yes’ I was summoned by our guide, Tom, and questioned about my fitness for the
walk which would involve some ‘ups and downs’ and some ‘uneven terrain’. This
was to prove a masterly understatement by my reckoning.
When our time came we repaired the the ‘Blue Room’ where we
were offered boots, which I accepted as we would be walking through streams,
rain jackets, walking poles and knapsacks. We suited up and then we set off in
a small bus to the start of the walk, We were a party of 8, two from Ireland,
two from India (on their honeymoon), two from Taiwan and ourselves from NYC.
Quite a diverse crowd. Our guide, Tom, was from Pennsylvania and worked some of
the year in New Zealand and some of the year in Alaska. He was a very
personable and knowledgeable guy who gave us great information about the flora,
fauna and the geology of the area. At the start of the walk is a photo taken in
the late 1800’s by a Mr Pringle, who Tom said also invented the Pringles potato
chips, but this seemed a bit of a tall story!! He pointed out many interesting
plants and trees on the way including a spiky plant known as the Lands,,,,,
tree. We also saw a fantail bird which swooped around us. We walked through
quite dense bush, off the public trail and eventually came out into the open
where we got our first glimpse of the glacier. Tom explained how the snow falls
on the high plateau called the ‘neve’ which is like a snow basin. The snow then
compacts and eventually starts its slide down the mountainside. The center part
traveling at as much as 5 meters per day and the slower parts at 1 meter per
day. Due to the changes in climate the glacier is receding and is much less
than it was even a few years ago. But it does expand every now and then for
short periods but the trend is recession.
Tom told us hilarious story about a kea bird, a kind of parrot which seems to have a predilection for stealing the equipment of unwary climbers and explorers of this area. In one case, a young lady had her sneakers stolen by one of these birds and while she was chasing the thief, another came and removed her pants from her campsite!! Although this story seems to be a bit 'tall' a check on Google for 'kea' bird will show a number of You-Tube videos of these birds doing all sorts of naughty stuff!!
 |
| We didn't actually see one but this is what the Kea looks like, if you see one, watch put for your belongings!! |
As we walked we passed the most beautiful waterfalls which
you could almost stand under, they were falling down the vertical cliff faces
along the trail.
The glacier brings down rocks and mud and the river below is
a concrete grey color with all the sediment which is contained in the flow. The
river bed is rising as a consequence and is now above the level of the town of Frans
Josef. This may mean that the town will have to move in the next decade. We
walked on and eventually came to a fence which said “Do no go beyond here”. Tom
said let’s do it anyway and we crossed the fence and the terrain became mush
more loose and steeper. This was quite a scramble for me but we all made it.
Every time we came over a hill or a mound of morrain, the view became better
and better until we almost seemed to be at the foot of the glacier. It was hard
going and my knees will feel the effects of it for some time but it was well
worth it.
 |
| Views of the Frans Josef Glacier |
 |
| The Waiho River that ran from the foot of the glacier |
 |
| Our guide, Tom, rescuing a piece of glacier ice |
We scrambled back down and came to the edge of the river
where Tom jumped down to the edge of the river and came back up with a large
chunk of glacier ice for us all to see and handle. Then it was on back to start
of the walk and to the minibus to take us back to the center again, tired and
hot and weary but thrilled with our experience. We returned our equipment and
bade Tom farewell. The whole experience had been extremely well and
professionally organized and coordinated and the arrangements were exceptional.
This is is how it should be done, with safety, care and yet allowing some
degree of flexibility ot give guests an experience which is a rather more than
anodyne. Yes, there could have been risks with scrambling such loose rocks but,
so what??
 |
| One of the many stunning waterfalls |
 |
| We all took turns to handle the glacier ice before returning it to the river |
 |
| A picture of our multi-national group |
Before heading north we tried to go to get a view of the
neve from a spot beside Frans Josef airport but the cloud was too thick by the
time we got there
After we left Frans Josef in the car we headed north along
the coast for Punakaiki where our next hotel was located right on the beach. It
would be about a three to four hour drive depending upon when and if we stopped
on the way.
The countryside was very varied with mountains on the right
(inland) side and the shore one the left. As usual we climbed up and then swung
down mountains and crossed plains where there were many farms but little
population. We passed through occasional small villages where there might be a
café or perhaps a gas station but, it seemed little else. But the varying
scenery was never dull.
We stopped in the small bustling town of Hokitiki which was
a much larger town and had a cup of coffee and a slice of cake at the cinema
café which was like an old milk bar. The town had quite a number of shops and
one, across the street from the café was selling merino wool and possum fur
clothing. The possums were introduced from Australia just for harvesting their
fur. They have become a pest as there are millions of them in New Zealand now.
The clothes which are made of this combination are wonderfully soft and warm
but are quite expensive. We did buy some gloves and a couple of other things
here before setting off on our way again.
We arrived at Punakaiki Resort Hotel at about 6.30 p.m. and
made a reservation for dinner at 7.30 p.m. After a shower and freshen up we had
dinner in the dining room overlooking the beach, the surf and the setting sun.
It had been another quite long day but we had very much
enjoyed it.
Comments
Post a Comment