Blogs from Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 11

Golden Bay to the Arthur's Pass and beyond

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef February 19th 2011

Wednesday 16th If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane… from Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes Just another day in the sun…jss Today is a designated do nothing day. I get up around 7:30, check my e-mails and go across the street to do some laundry. This takes about an hour and a half so I while away the time reading and eating breakfast at a local café. My work done, I pack up, say farewell to my hosts and begin to backtrack down the road to Tekaka and then Motueka. I stop in each to do some window-shopping and buy a few meds. After managing to loose my sunglasses I buy some cheap ones and then head out for Murchison, in a valley about half way to the west coast. As I had ... read more

Endelig New Zealand - ett av flere mål på turen. Utrolig spennende med masse natur. OMSIDER OGSAA NAA BILDER!!!

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef February 15th 2011

New Zealand har masse fjell. Her paa soroya er det hoyeste Mt. Cook ca 3700m

Nina og Kjell

Landet i Christchurch for en uke siden. Måtte i full fart kjøpe returbillett til Sydney. Selv gamle back-packere med fete kredittkort slipper ikke inn her uten retur eller billett hjem!! Mao er vår frihet ikke som den var planlagt. Enden på det hele ble billett via Fiji, Los Angeles til London,men vær sikker på vi finner på noe under veis.I tillegg forsvant kjapt agurk, avokado og div. matvarer av en superstreng toll. Nå koser vi oss i et Spaceship campervan -enkel mobil- en herlig måte å komme rundt i et vidstrakt land. Landet har en flott vekslende natur med en fjellkjede som går langsetter både Nord- og Sørøya. Mount Cook rager høyt med vel 3700 m. Et imponerende syn i flott vær. På vestkysten av Sørøya stuper isbreene fra 3000m og ned i tette regnskoger ved ... read more

Paa vestkysten - mot Australia - gaar det isbreer fra ca 3000 meters hoyde og rett ned i regskogen ved havnivaa.

Det er mer enn 40 milioner sauer paa oya. Dvs. 10 sauer pr. innbygger. Godt kjott.

Som dere skjonner er dette et land fylt av mektig natur. Vi opplevde det meste fra bilvinduet da avstandene var store og 14 dager paa baade Sor- og Nordoya gaar fort. Har naa kjort ca. 350 mil.

The West coast: Murchison, Cape Foulwind, Hokitika and Franz Josef

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef February 11th 2011

half a mountain

peterandjuliaottershaw

The West coast: Murchison, Cape Foulwind, Hokitika and Franz Josef Thursday 3rd February Left Nelson to drive to Murchison. Stopped on the way for a short walk at St Arnaud. We are now in high country with steep valleys and beautiful hills. Arrived in Murchison and found our B+B – very plush with four rooms and a big lounge area. We are the only people staying so have the lounge to ourselves. Walked into town and had dinner in a converted petrol station – great big slices of meat pies and bottles of local beer. Returned to B+B to find complimentary homemade damson liquor. Going to try making some of that when we get home. Friday 4th February Borrowed mountain bikes from our hosts at the B+B. They were heading to Nelson for the day to ... read more

tight squeeze over the suspension bridge

Franz Joseph (4-5 Dec 2010)

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef February 5th 2011

Feeding animals at the bushman centre

honeymoonheaven

Saturday 4th December 2010 (Mahinapua – Franz Joseph) Today we had an insight into life in the New Zealand wilderness at the bushman centre watching a DVD about the deer industry, although all we really wanted to do was feed the animals. We walked around the strange museum with booby trap water sprays everywhere. Our final destination today was Franz Joseph, where we booked ice climbing for tomorrow morning before being whisked off Kayaking on Lake Mapourika. Wayne our guide was really laid back and the whole experience was relaxed and enjoyable, floating though still rivers with a bit of a hard push at the end against the cross winds. We got back to our hostel just in time for a dip in the hot tub before dinner. Sunday 5th December 2010 (Mahinapua – Franz Joseph) ... read more

NZ - South Island Adrenalin Tour

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef February 4th 2011

Moeraki Boulders

SimonandDeborah

Friday 28th January – NZ Here We Come / Welcome to Sussex The next stage of the adventure with an early flight, 3 hour time difference and the first leg of a long drive from Christchurch to Dunedin: Brisbane – Remarkably, limited evidence of the recent floods and a hugely impressive effort – with local riverside bars and restaurants having been refitted and reopened within two weeks of being half under water. Countryside – Felt like we had been sold a bit of a dummy after picking up a car in Christchurch and driving south towards Dunedin – scenery was rural and seriously lacking in mountains, gorges, lakes etc. We could have sworn we had just arrived in Sussex! Wicker Man – Dropped into a bar in the back of beyond to grab a bite to ... read more

next installment :)

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef January 31st 2011

Clare and Alex

Hi all, We are in Franz josef now on south island and got completely poured on last night, in fact it rained none stop for about 36 hours straight!! We signed on for a glacier full day hike for tom and REALLY looking forward to that! so will be posting some picies on here or on facebook of that one for sure :) last night we wnt in the glacier hot pools, those were beautiful, we spent a good couple of hours in there surrounded by rainforest, absolutely stunning. and not too many americans around thankfully...sorry if this sounds americanist but they are so loud!! everything must be OHMYGODDED at and spoken about in a ten decible pitched voice...arghhh why do they do it!!!?? anyway so it was a relief to not have any of them ... read more

Glacier

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef January 19th 2011

Photo 2

oldfarmers

We stayed at a campsite in the rain forest and it didn't stop raining all night! We booked a helicopter trip over the Glacier but the weather wasn't very good so we could only have a short flight and we didn't get chance to land on the glacier itself. The glacier is always on the move and travels between 1.5m and 3.5m per day. We drove up through Arthur's Pass towards Christchurch and met some very friendly birds called Keas. They came in our campervan and pecked at the tyres and when we drove off they were still on the roof!... read more

Kiwi Adventure_ Franz Josef Glacier

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef January 16th 2011

Lauren hiking on the Franz Josef Glacier

Francy

Day 3 saw us hiking on a 12 kilometre long glacier on the Southern Alps. The only glacier in the world that descends in to a lush temperate rainforest! Due to strong snowfall it is one of the few glaciers in New Zealand which is still growing. Amazing to be walking on it. ... read more

Lauren and Fran squished in a glacial crevice

Days 8-9: Glacier Country

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef January 1st 2011

Group Shot

Paddler2009

Days 10 - 12 Glacier Country to the Top of the Island Day 8: Happy New Years Eve… Let’s Drive Today was the first long day of driving, 6.5 hours from Te Anau to the Glaciers. Nothing too exciting happened today except for some more heavenly scenery. Evan is really getting better at taking pictures, and we played ‘Camera Fire Drill’ where I would let him off at a scenic road point, drive a few kilometers and turn around and come fetch him. The products of this are shown in some of the pictures. The highways here are unbelievably curvy - behind every bend was a fresh treat for the adventurous eyes. Until tomorrow’s adventures… Day 9: Franz Josef Glacier Hike… Today we took on the steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier in the world. ... read more

The Frozen Tundra or Why I am Sick

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef December 25th 2010

jalee

There are quite a few phrases I would rather not hear come out of my guides mouth with hiking up a glacier. “Look, a polar bear!” “I think we’re in for a storm.” “Is that a woman frozen in the ice?” However, the one I heard was just as bad, if not worse, because I actually heard it. Said with confused look “Right, so I’ve just taken us the wrong way again. Sorry. It’s just that it all looks the same. “ Really? REALLY?!?!?! Mind you, today is not the day they shot the promo video we watched. It is not sunny, I am not wearing shorts, and no, I am not smiling. It is 4 hours in on a 6 hour hike and I am soaked to my bum, as the Kiwi’s call it hungry, ... read more

Brief history of New Zealand

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...more history

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