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Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

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By OJ Scott
November 17th 2009

Franz Josef Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Mt Cook from the skydiving plane

Well I'm a good week or so behind writing this blog - I'm currently in Te Anau with no way to upload any photos so I'll add those later. I've skipped writing about a few places - after crossing the Cook Strait on a ferry between the two islands, we headed down the west coast of the South Island through what has been my favourite part of New Zealand so far: Franz Josef-Wanaka-Queenstown, just off the Fiordland National Park, which has some incredible scenery. We pulled into Franz Josef, a tiny resort for ice climbing and hiking on the Franz Josef [View Full Entry]

By jujubee
October 21st 2009

Day 39 Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Ice Tunnel

Day 39 12th October - Franz Josef Glaciers Heli-Hike, Skydive, Lake Matterson & finally onto Greymouth. Today was one hell of an action filled day! We woke up really early and made our way to the Heli-hike office, from there we were weighed and then we crossed over the road to a little shack to get our boots and special coats on. After a quick word or two regarding safety, we were split us into three groups (we were group number 2), each group got on to their helicopters and made there way over to the Glacier. The helicopter ride was [View Full Entry]

By the kemps
October 4th 2009

Franz Josef Glacier and Hokitika Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Franz Josef - Wicked

The road to Franz Josef was pretty cool and we arrived just as the mist and the rain set in. The one difference between here and home is they actually know what the weather is doing so we were advised to wait it out for a day until the skies cleared. This basically involved a lot of brandy and backgammon! We did manage to nip out in the rain for a hot chocolate and a muffin and then we were very kindly given a free hot tub for an hour courtesy of spaceships - just what you need when every part [View Full Entry]

By Brimster
August 26th 2009

Rain and the Franz Josef and Fox's Glacier Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Steve in the Franz Josef National Park

So the theme of this blog is rain as that is all it did in the three days we stayed in Franz Josef! Wednesday morning rolled around and Steve and I were both suffering from cabin fever having spent so much time in the car without doing any real exercise so we decided whatever the weather we would head out. Unfortunately the weather in Franz Josef on Wednesday was serious rain. Anyway after having eaten some lunch we headed up to the glacier. Our original idea had been to walk up via the track from the town however we were told [View Full Entry]

Me very wet in the Franz Josef National Park

Steve on a bridge across the raging river

By leeandtee
August 6th 2009

Franz Josef - Glacier Country Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Franz Josef Glacier (2)

4 August - Franz Josef - Glacier region Leaving Greymouth The heavy rain, thunder and lightening woke us about 5.30am in Greymouth, it sounded like it was never going to stop! We left Greymouth about 8.45am and drove south to Franz Josef, the Glacier Region of the West Coast. It was still raining heavily when we arrived and we managed to check into our hotel early, about 11am. Franz Josef We are staying in the Glenfern Villas, about 3k north of the town. This is the best accommodation on this trip so far (all have been great though [View Full Entry]

By nmcoulson
August 3rd 2009

Dunedin to Wanaka and Franz Josef Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

P7300609

Lets see... In Dunedin I didn't get up to much of note. I found a nice cheap hostel for $16, the cheapest I'd found anywhere, and spent 4 nights. Not because there was much going on but because I wanted to relax and recharge my batteries. I walked around the first night and caught up on some emails before an early night. The second day I walked all over town to the free museums, doing errands, going to a butterfly exhibit and driving out to the Otago Penninsula. I spent the majority of the day out there going on hikes hitting [View Full Entry]

By John Miranda
July 31st 2009

As Cold as Ice Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Franz Josef Glacier

It was an early start for shuttle bus to the train station to catch the TransAlpine across to Greymouth. There was a steady stream of hail stones falling as we boarded amongst the massed ranks of Japanese, who were fitting the train trip into their 5 day - it’s Thursday so it must be Arthur’s Pass - NZ itinerary. The fact that most were sound asleep within an hour of leaving, suggested that a combination of the itinerary and the early start had been too much for most. The hail had turned to snow by Arthur’s Pass, which made for a [View Full Entry]

By elal
July 29th 2009

Franz Josef Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

Our amazing view in the morning

26th May 2009 After a well deserved lie in we awoke to blue skies and stunning views of snow-capped Mount Cook. Having booked a glacial walk tour, we decided to walk up to the terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier. It took 45 minutes to walk to the face and once there we were treated to a great sight. The terminal face itself was pretty dramatic. In the centre was a huge ice cave with massive bolders of ice that had fallen from the glacier, sitting underneath. The colour of the glacial ice was surprising too with shades of deep [View Full Entry]

Some of the many waterfalls near the glacier

By mojojojotang
July 26th 2009

franz josef glacier Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

franz 01

07/17: if you think a half-day glacier walk is going to be a breeze, think twice. my whole body was sore after the climb. the whole group is divided intro teams of three. i was in team two, which meant that my pace was just right. here are some tips: if you're planning to buy all the gear for this half-day climb, DON'T! the tour operator will lend you all the gear you need. geer rental is inclusive, so you won't have to pay extra. since everything is rented, do not expect brand new gear and equipment. another tip is not [View Full Entry]

By Slester
July 24th 2009

Welly, Nelson and Poo Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef

The River Valley...River

It seems an ice age since I last sat down to write, no matter, it takes more than fun filled days and drink filled nights to keep me away from a computer for too long. Allow me to bring you up t date with the latest goings ons from Kiwiland. So I leave Taupo for the second and final time. More about the first leavings later on. The Kiwi bus heads south towards an isolated lodge sat in a nice little valley with a river running through, hence the name River Valley Lodge. This is the 'home' of white water rafting, [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef