Just a quick note: It is now Sunday March 1 and I am way behind on the blog. I wrote the blog below last Friday but have not had a chance to post as the internet in the Haast area was very slow. Hopefully I’ll catch up in the next day or so!!
Feb 25-26
Hi All,
The drive down from Barrytown was gorgeous. Bright sunshine on the coast and developing clouds over the coastal range….quite spectacular. We got to Greymouth a little before 11:00 and thought that was too early to go to the Montieth factory for a tour/tasting…..dang!!! So we went on to a little town called Hokatika. This is jade country so we stopped to look at some of the local art and see if any of our stones had some jade….we later concluded that maybe 1 or 2 were keepers!!! We bought several pieces of carvings made from the Rimu tree….we saw several of these very tall trees on the Heaphy track. It is a very dense wood, great for carvings!!
On to glacier country and our first look at the Franz Joseph glacier. It was partially hidden by some clouds but then the clouds parted….whoa!!! Many people had told us to do a helicopter hike and when we booked the only spots left were for the Fox glacier 20 km south. We called to confirm they were still going as the forecast was for rain, and they said most likely and they had spots open for the 8:50 am trip which might be better as we had the 10:50am. So after scoping out the little town and buying a few groceries we headed back to our hotel and had a nice dinner with a very good bottle of Church merlot wine!!! (a winery we went to in Marlborough region!)
So up early the next day, wore several layers of warm clothes and made it to Fox glacier where they said the flight was a go. We soon got outfitted with a nice jacket, boots and socks and taken by bus to the helicopter. After a safety briefing away we went for a 5 minute ride to the glacier…..wow, the sights were stunning. The weather forecast was for 70% rain and we had bright sunshine….out came the sunscreen!!! Once we were on the glacier we were outfitted with crampons…..a first for both of us and once we got used to picking up the feet and planting the steel spikes firmly these units were our best friend and gave us excellent footing. For the next few hours we walked the glacier, over many very unique formations, tunnels, overhangs et al…..a most unusual and unique experience.
Then right at the end as we were less than 50 yards from the helicopter spot, Kathy got a steel spike caught in her pants and we had a wo(man) down. Her first printable comments were “oweeeee, that ice is frick’n hard”…..she woke up this morning with a very sore and bruised knee….Advil will now be her best friend for the next few days.
Wikipedia description of Fox Glacier: Fed by four alpine glaciers, Fox Glacier falls 2,600 m (8,500 ft) on its 13 km journey from the Southern Alps down to the coast, with it having the distinction of being one of the few glaciers to end among lush rainforest only 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. It was named in 1872 after a visit by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir William Fox.
The top of the glacier or neve is at about 10-11,000 feet high and collects over 200” of snow each year and is just below Mt Tasman and Mt Cook. The Fox glacier seems to be holding ok while the Franz Joseph glacier is retreating.
After our glacier hike we went back to FJ and had lunch, ice cold beer for John and several medicinal glasses of wine for Kathy!!! Our good friends Phil and Norma on sv Minnie B described sitting in Franz Joseph as being in the middle of a Mash show….lot’s of helicopters coming and going. The weather was coming and we could see the mountains getting fogged in….maybe so much helicopter activity was bringing all the people off the glacier….we got lucky again w/Mr Weather and just got in before the rains started. After lunch if was off to the Glacier Hot Pools for a very relaxing soak in many different pools….ah!!!!
Today we are off to the Haast area for some more day hikes in a beautiful coastal setting….however, the weather forecast is for more rain so we might be hiking with our rain gear…ugh!!!!
Stats:
Traveled: 150 miles today; 1350 miles total!
Hotel: stayed at Franz Joseph Oasis – not too bad!
Wrong Turns: holding at 4:)))
One-Way Bridges: 110+ AND a one-bridge shared with a….Train? Re-ally??? :0
Food: nothing noteworthy:(((
Hope all is well!!
John
On way bridge with train tracks…yikes!!!!
Hokatika Beach
Hokatika
Our first glimpse of the Franz Joseph Glacier
Fox Glacier – we hiked the lower tongue
Here we go!!
View of the Glacier from the helicopter
Waterfall by the glacier
The Glacier coming down the valley
Some of these crevices are 50-100′ deep!!
John posing!!!
The happy couple – notice the steel spikes on the crampons!!!
Kathy dug in!!
Looking down to the valley – that is the Tasman Sea in the distance
Our guide clearing a path
They estimated this hole at about 150′ – the guide took the pic as we were not allowed too close!!
This is a great shot! – notice the blue ice!!
Going through….man is that ice hard on the knees!!
Kathy just went through!!
The clouds coming in as we got off the g;lacier!
The next day – great shot of the whole Fox Glacier
That is the Fox Glacier on the left, Mt Tasman in the middle with the cloud and Mount Cook on the right (we think it includes both peaks)
Mt Cook – 12,500′, tallest mountain in NZ
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