Sign In
Blogs from Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania
Advertisement
June 7th 2013
I've spent two weeks in New Zealand now. I probably should have done up a post a little earlier than this but I guess I'm getting towards the end of my trip and am getting even lazier than usual. After getting up at 6.30 to watch the Champions League final, my Stray bus arrived shortly during the second half to pick me up from my hostel. It was 1-1 at the time, but I wasn't surprised to hear Bayern managed to win in the end. They usually do. The bus was full, which meant about 24 passengers. They drove us outside Auckland to the stray offices where we were given some spiel and time to mingle. At that time of the morning I really couldn't be bothered and went off to sit in a chair somewhere. ... read more
Wanaka and France Joseph Glacier
Published: May 8th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
May 6th 2013
Wanaka and France Joseph Glacier. As predicted Sunday was a white wash. All the plans made by Burto for kayaking, horse riding, sky jump etc all had to be cancelled. It rained almost non-stop all day. There was no point even driving up the hills to have a good view of Wanaka as the low clouds almost obliterated the view. He changed plans quickly and we went to see the "Puzzle World" an assortment of curious things starting with 3D images, faces of famous people with their eyes following you, a room which fools your sense of proportion another which mocks at your sense of balance and gravity etc. There was also a large maze where you have to negotiate your way to four coloured havens and finally find your way out of the maze. There ... read more
Lakes, Pools and Waterfalls
Published: May 4th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
April 12th 2013
Friday, 12th April - Day Nine: Wanaka to Franz Josef, 288km (173 miles). This is glacier country. A gorgeous morning, sunny and bracing. The west coast is very different from the east. Today we cross 28 one way bridges, pass craggy rocks and high mountains, blue and green pools, rivers, waterfalls and lakes, and eventually enter Glacier country to view both Fox and Franz Josef glaciers but sadly only from a distance. In Franz Josef town, Howard and I got a private film viewing of a helicopter tour over both glaciers and Mt. Cook just because the Adventure Centre was about to close for the day and we were the last people to arrive. Hey, one paragraph!... read more
March 28th 2013
Today is the day….I finally get to walk on the glacier! I am at the designated place at 8.30am and we are kitted out with socks, shoes, trousers, jackets, a bag, hat and gloves! We then walk over to the heli-pad and quash together as four of us head up, for our 5minute flight to the glacier. On the glacier, we put on our crampons – which were in the bag we were given, and head off, following our guide. It takes a tentative step or two to feel comfortable, walking with big metal cages on your feet, but I soon get the hang of it, and stride over the ice. You can tell we follow one of the set routes through the glacier, but I guess it has to be, guides can’t just go exploring ... read more
March 27th 2013
I am up, breakfasted and out of the hostel by 9am, despite by bus not being until 9.30am…..just needed to breathe some fresh air! The bus journey is only very short, at 30minutes from Fox to Franz Josef glacier, again with lovely scenery. Franz Josef feels like a big town after Fox, but with one main street and one back street behind it, in reality I don’t think you could describe it as that! Left my bags in the storeage area at the hostel, grabbed my lunch (prepared yesterday) and headed straight to the DOC office to check the track conditions of the day walk – Alex Knob Track, which I wanted to do. Being a full day hike, I knew that if I didn’t do it today then I wouldn’t have the time. In the ... read more
Advertisement
Day 94: Franz Joseph (day 2)
Published: March 19th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
March 13th 2013
Lizzie and I treated ourselves to a well-deserved lie-in after yesterday's glacier hike, James treated himself to a nice long run! Franz Joseph is a really nice town with plenty of activities to do so we had no problem filling our spare day. We set off late morning for the walk to the bottom of the glacier, it was a fairly straightforward path and the 14km walk led to some really nice views of the glacier from the bottom. It's highly dangerous and stupid tourists often ignore the ranger signs, go off track and get crushed by falling ice! After the walk we treated ourselves to a dip in the hot pools, although the 40 degrees pool was way too hot to stay in for any length of time. Baileys ... read more
Day 93: Franz Joseph (day 1)
Published: March 19th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
March 12th 2013
The South Island is renowned for its small population and some people might say its slightly odd locals... this came to light when we stopped at Pukekura and The Bushman's lodge for breakfast. Here they sell Possum pies, Possum fur nipple warmers and all sorts of other weird stuff! Nonetheless Pete the owner seemed pretty nice and cracked a few jokes for us. Our next stop was Lake Mapourika for a brief picture before arriving in the small town of Franz Joseph. We wolfed down our lunch and geared up for our ice explorer adventure on the Franz Joseph glacier. We'd caught a glimpse of the glacier from the road, but only when we were approaching in the helicopter did we get the 'wow' factor. We explored the ice for 3 hours with our guide Rich, ... read more
February 15th 2013
Am Morgen ging es auf eine kleine Wanderung durch die alte Bergmannsstadt. Bei der Führung erhielten wir ein paar Infos zur Historie der Stadt. Vom Bergarbeiteraufstand, politisch linken Führern, welche später eine eigene Mine (kapitalistisch) geführt haben bis zu heutigen Ereignisse gab es doch erstaunlich viel zu erzählen. Anschließend ging es mit dem Bus auf in Richtung Franz Josef. Hier haben wir in einer netten Ferienanlage übernachtet, wo sich auch ein Campingplatz und einige Ferienhäuser auf dem Grundstück befinden.... read more
15.02. Franz Josef – Day off
Published: March 12th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
February 15th 2013
7.40 Uhr startet die heutige Tour. Ich habe mich für die „Franz Josef Ice Experience“ entschieden. Zuerst bekommen wir eine kurze Einweisung und dann gibt es die Ausstattung für die bevorstehende Gletscherwanderung. Hose, Jacke, Handschuhe, Mütze und Schuhe mit anschnallbaren Spikes gehören zur heutigen Ausstattung. Wir gehen zum Hubschrauberlandeplatz, wo ein reger Verkehr herrscht. Unser Hubschrauber muss noch kurz auftanken und dann geht es hoch in die Luft. Mein erster Helikopterflug überhaupt und es ist ein super Gefühl und dazu kommt ein sehr schöner Ausblick auf das weiter Land und die Berge vor uns, wo der Franz Josef Gletscher sich durch die Berge schiebt. Nach 5-10 Minuten Flug landen wir auf dem Gletscher. Am Sammelpunkt werden die Spikes angeschnallt und dann bewegt sich unsere kleine Gruppe über den Gletscher. Jedoch nicht nur über den Gletscher geht ... read more
Fox Glacier & Franz Josef Glacier! ... 9/1 to 11/1
Published: January 19th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef
January 20th 2013
Well... now the true road trip begins! After dropping John and Andrea off at the airport for their flight back to Perth we start the long journey back to Auckland. Today we are heading towards the West Coast. We are staying in Haast ....Only about 160km away but terrible weather! Long drive from Queenstown through torrential rain storms, across the Southern Alps, Wanaka township & Lake Howea. Imagine looking at the ocean stretching for as far as the eye can see.....thats the size of the lakes here! The weather has really changed ...rain, rain & more rain. The mountain sides are sliding grey slate & rocks down onto the roads, new natural waterfalls forming due to the heavy rain....running off the moutains & across the main roads...a joy to drive! Roads behind us have been closed. ... read more
