Depending how you look at it, the last 3 weeks of my life have been either phenomenally efficient, or one massive rush (or indeed both). It seems patently ridiculous to think that just 3 weeks ago I was in Sydney climbing the Harbour Bridge with the whole Australian East Coast yet to be seen, leave alone New Zealand. It is equally galling that it was a mere 12 days ago that some swarmy git stole my camera - a fact that has inevitable meant many a solitary moment since the 11th has left thoughts to turn to various "what if" scenarios that achieve little else bar leaving me feeling pretty gutted.
Today, however, had a double-whammy of gloom-busting developments. On one front, the nagging annoyance of losing so many fun-filled photos from Fraser Island was lifted upon seeing some classic snaps appear on Facebook courtesy of Nick - one of the crew in our 7 man 4x4. On a second front, a quite breathtaking sunset over the rugged flat plain, rainforest-clad mountains and white icy glacier provided a perfect opportunity for my new camera to show off why I'm far better off with something of its calibre in a country like New Zealand. A few examples can be found below.
On the topic of glaciers, I am in Glacier Country, and today saw me tick off another rather large box both in the Must-Do New Zealand activities, as well as a smaller but still decent one in the general checklist for life experiences. The task at hand was the Franz Josef Heli-Hike, involving a helicopter ride up to, and 2-hour hike around, the upper reaches of the Franz Josef glacier.
The Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are about half an hour's drive apart from one another, but have international fame due to their unique surroundings - along with another in Argentina, they are the only glaciers in the world that are found rolling down mountains whose banks are populated with temperate rainforest. It is surreal, to say the least, to be standing on top of a good 100 metres of solid ice, in blazing summer sunshine, surrounded by lush green trees. Given there are over 3000 glaciers in New Zealand, leave alone the rest of the world, you can get some perspective on just how unique a sight you behold.
On top of this, Franz and Fox move at a remarkable rate - at their tops the level of snowfall results in as much as 8 metres of downward movement every day. As a measure of comparison, your average glacier would be hard pushed to move 1 metre.
With an unseasonal forecast of blazing sunshine (which, according to Chris at Neptune's, is about as likely as guessing the roll of a die), I'd taken the liberty of booking the heli-hike" from i-Site tourist info centre in Greymouth - although cheaper alternatives included either heli- or hike on their own, once again monetary considerations were thrown out the window after at least 2 people said "the heli-hike is the best if you can afford it". My Visa card being accepted was criteria enough for the above, and after another ridiculously scenic drive down the ridiculously scenic west coast, I was in the Franz Josef township early enough to grab a colossal toasted sandwich from the local "Speight's" bar/cafe.
Helicopters are seriously fun. The physics of their motion is so different to any other method of transport, but what really takes you by surprise is their incredible stability through the steepest banked turns. With a full panoramic view as you ascend the carved escarpments of centuries of glacial erosion, you can't help but hold your breath as the pilot casually pulls a 180 degree banked turn while descending to within 10 metres of the ice below and 20 metres of the rocks to the side, before dropping to a perfect landing on a specified patch of ice.
Out the chopper, crampons on, and for the next 2 hours we follow Essex boy Ned around the sights and sounds of Franz Josef at 1600 metres. First impression? Immediately around you, there's a lot of white; just beyond, a lot of green.
Moving at the rate it does, the glacier is constantly changing, so the guides follow new tracks every time depending on what they've seen earlier that day. Our features included a couple of caves (cue cheesy photos), a tall, thin ice corridor (anyone much fatter than me wouldn't get through) complete with ceiling, and an awesome tunnel of ice that was basically flat at a horizontal angle, requiring you to slide on your front along the flowing water till the you reached a little pool at the other end. Apparently there were some stairs carved in the ice allowing you to avoid the water, but I was too busy posing for sub-glacial photos (see below) to look/notice and, much to the amusement of the rest of the group, ended up balls-deep in icy glacial meltwater. Cold.
A bit more hiking, a chopper ride back down, and I was back on the road heading a bit further south to the Fox Glacier township. 5 minutes outside of Fox lies Lake Matheson which, on a clear day (i.e. once in a blue moon), offers the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous view of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman - the two tallest mountains in NZ - reflected in the crystal clear water. There was a bit of cloud cover over the peaks while I was there so I couldn't get the epic pic, but the one that will eventually appear below isn't half bad either.
A few hours later, and the other side of the car park offered one of the most stunning sunset backdrops I've ever seen - beginning a barrage of photos (one such example below). To top everything off, over at the summit of Mount Cook the cloud suddenly cleared, with snow-capped summit glowing in the evening sun like a beacon of light. Beautiful.
The DAILY ROD's Top Travel Tips:
#12 - Don't travel anywhere without Lemsip. Post-glacial sniffles were destroyed with one mug.
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