Blogs from Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

My luck couldn't last forever... but at least it lasted as long as it did. Saturday was forecast to rain and although the day started stunningly, I knew it wouldn't stay for long. This being said, it was not necessarily a bad day for a shower or two as I was heading north through the 2nd of my alpine crossings, Haast Pass. Leaving Wanaka, I woke past Lake Howea and back to the northern section of Lake Wanaka, before starting to climb once again. The clouds were already covering a lot of the tops of the mountains and it wasn't long until I joined them. The road weaves in and out of Mt Cook National Park, alternating between pasture lands and the temperate rainforest so synonymous with the west coast of New Zealand. One thing I've ... read more

Kia ora, wie hier gerne auch als Begruessung als Schriftzug herumhaengt und von den Maori kommt. Ist noch gar nicht so lange her, dass ich meine letzten Eintrag gemacht habe (zumindest fuer mich gefuehlt). Ich hoffe ihr habt auch alle nochmal nachgeschaut nach der zweiten Mail, ich konnte schlussendlich doch noch die restlichen Bilder hinzufuegen. Wer sie also noch nicht gesehen hat, den alten Blog nochmal anschauen. So nun aber zu meinen weiteren Taten und Reisen auf der Suedinsel. Wie schon erwaehnt sind wir noch einen Tag laenger in Picton gewesen und dann mit dem Bus weitergefahren. In Kaiteriteri sind wir jedoch gleich wieder abgesprungen und haben uns dort einem weiteren Wanderweg hingegeben, dem Abel Tasman Coastal Track. Mit der Faehre gings zum Startpunkt, an dem es dann auch schon ordentlich geregnet hat und durch den ... read more

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

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

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