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Published: March 7th 2009
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6th March 2009 - A DAY INDOORS!!!
Woke up to the sound of rain hammering it down...I thought I was back home for a second until I realised that I was sharing my room with strangers and there were no home comforts. Can't quite get used to that! Our shuttle bus to take us to Fox Glacier (30 minutes away) was picking us up at 10am and so we spent the morning just lazing about, getting ready and having breakfast. We made sure we were outside in plenty of time with the wheels off our bikes for when the bus came. The bus was on time as usual (unlike the 147 eh gran?) and for once the driver was pleasant. He even had a conversation with us that didn’t involve grunting! Wonders never cease!
The rain didn’t stop the whole way to Fox Glacier town (the home of the glacier mint - love this fact…didn’t click at first)! Our plan had been to just stay one night and go and visit Lake Matherson whilst we were here as the postcards of it looked amazing! As the rain was so heavy visibility was poor and the hostel people told us that
there would be no point visiting the lake in such weather as we wouldn’t get to see all the reflections or the mountain background. We were a bit gutted but as we had a little time to play with we decided to book another night so that we may catch it at another time. I kept my fingers crossed!
Once we had settled in the hostel we had a short walk into the town to do a quick shop at the general store. Only one shop in town and so things were a bit overpriced but it was either buy or starve….we chose to buy and treat ourselves to some tasty soup, some thick sliced bread and some cheese and beans. Living like proper travelers eh?!! Once shopped we went back to the hostel. As the rain was still heavy and Lake Matherson was a no go, the day turned into a bit of an indoor playtime like you used to have at school! We made a brew and took control of the tv room for a few hours. We watched 10 minutes of Jeremy Kyle before we both wanted to shoot him followed by ourselves (I really hope
New Zealanders don’t think that show is a reflection of England…shocking!) and then put ‘Wedding Crashers’ on. Top film and a good way to pass time on a rainy day!
Following the film it was time to have a late lunch of beans and cheese on toast for me and soup for Nat. Tasty as and filled a hole!! Lunch was followed by the internet for an hour or so in town before returning to the hostel and browsing the game shelf. We tried our hand at some trivial pursuit questions and we got about 2 out of 10 between us. I am banned from writing one of the answers Nat gave as it was a very blonde comment but then again I can’t take talk…..I have had some shockers of late!! I blame the lack of a good shampoo…not getting the nutrients needed to our brains!! Whoever invented the game must have been born in 1902 anyway the questions were that old….not a fan!!!
At around 7ish we took over the tv room once more and put the classic movie that is ‘Gladiator’ on!! Love this film every time I watch it and was a fab way
At reflection Island!
On a clear day you can see snow topped Mount Cook and Fox Glacier reflected in the water!! to pass the evening! Awesome film! After the film we toddled back to our dorm and read and chatted for a while before falling asleep. Such party animals I know!!
7th March 2009 - A VISIT TO LAKE MATHERSON!!!
Woke up feeling pretty tired. Thought I slept well but Nat said I was tossing and turning for a good while. Must have had a bad dream or something. I got up anyway and splashed my face with water to refresh…worked a treat! It was then breakfast and book time until I thought the hour reasonable enough to go into the room with the lazy people and rustle in my bags for some clothes and my shower stuff. Nat was awake anyway and we were both pleased when we looked out of the window and saw blue sky…..Lake Matherson here we come!!
We didn’t think there was any rush to get there so we took our tiem getting ready and sorting our stuff. A German girl from our room said she was going to hire a bike for a few hours and asked if she could cycle there with us too…the more the merrier. It was around 12pm when
we set off and as luck would have it, the blue sky had gone and turned grey. It kept trying to rain too but as we had covered ourselves with insect repellant and got the bikes out, we decided to go anyway. Only 6km away and the weather was not as bad as the previous day anyway!!
The cycle there was ok…pretty flat and easy going. Once there we parked our bikes up at the shop and set off on the hours walk around the Lake. The rain came pretty heavy in parts and so the views and visibility was not as the postcards portrayed but it still looked nice. About half way around the lake is the ‘Island of Reflections’ where on a clear day you can see Mount Cook and Fox Glacier in the distance and reflected in the water. We did ge some reflections of the trees and closer mountains but no mount cook for us. Oh well…..I still liked it and made me feel like I had done something with my day instead of lazing around watching films all day!
Once we had taken a few photos at the reflection part we continued the
walk back to the ca park. Just as we reached the car park the heavens opened again and the rain came down quite heavy on our ride back to the hostel and we got pretty wet to say the least. Still…I think it was worth the ride out though we did plan to ride there again the following morning and get some better photos should the sun decide to show its face!!
The rest of the day was spent in pretty much the same way as the previous day. We had lunch..soup for me and Spaghetti on toast for Nat. We then spent an hour on the net in town before returning to the hostel and chilling out for the rest of the evening by reading and watching the worst film ever....Gattaca!! Not recommended. Once the film finished it was time to head to bed though after an hours sleep I was woken by inconsiderate people talking loudly in our room. Once I was awake I tossed and turned for ages trying to get to sleep again! Not impressed!!
8th March 2009 - GOODBYE FOX GLACIER!!
I woke a few times in the night. Must have had something
on my mind! I got up at around 7 and wanted to make loads of noise in the room to wake those that had woken me last night. I wasn't that petty though and took myself out to have breakfast. Once breakfast was over we made sure all our stuff was packed up and chilled out for the morning unil the Atomic Bus came to collect us at 10.50am as once again we had been advised not to ride that part of the journey due to the monster hills. Next stop....Haast!
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