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Published: November 30th 2005
Hello all! Let me pick up where I left off.
After recovering from the sea sickness, I boarded a bus the following morning to Punakaiki. Now, most people make this a quick 40 minute stop over, but I decided to stay the night. As you read, you will understand why. This was my vacation from my vacation.
First of all, the bus ride was again amazing. The roads curve and cut through the mountains and forests and you see rivers and waterfalls along the way. It truly is breathtaking. Even when I know I have a full day on the bus I am excited to see the countryside. I just can't get enough! We pulled into Punakaiki and I didn't realize how small it was. There were three buildings in town - a cafe, art gallery and the information center. The only bar/restaurant (of course I found that) was further down the hill sitting by itself. I checked into the Beach Front Backpackers. This hostal was literally right on the beach! My room was on the main floor facing the water and I could hear the waves crashing in! I was in heaven. After checking in, I walked around town and then headed a little out of town for my adventure of the day - horse trekking. This could be the best thing I have done thus far. We had two guides, Sally and Nic, and they took us on a 2 1/2 hour trek into the national park and along the beach. Now, some of you know, but for those that don't, I turn into an 8 yr. old around horses. I get all giddy and smiley and pet them and talk to them and hug them. Really, I just embarrass myself the whole time. So, this was a big treat for me. Now, I have riden western my entire life and they only ride english. This was a bit of a change, but I confindenly adjusted. After crossing a couple of rivers and getting into the park, we stopped for tea and a snack. Tea is very popular here - another reason why I could stay forever. Then back on the horses. AT this point, Nic and I broke off from the group. I was the only experienced rider and we were off to gallop. She taught me how to better ride in the saddle and we were off. My horse, Barkley, had the smoothest canter. It was lovely. I'm saying lovely all the time now cuz' people use it here. Someone stop me! Anyhow, I was in heaven. We met back up with the group and headed for the beach. Once we all walked a little, the other riders left for the stables and Nic and I went all out. We were on this beautiful deserted beach on the Tasman Sea and I was at a fulll out run. I felt complete freedom!!! This as the best high ever. I'm not sure that too many things in my life will top it. I have dreamed of doing this for years and years. We returned to the stables and I stood a little be longer with my horse before departing. From here I went to see the Pancake rocks. This is why most people stop here. It's a natural phenom. Scientists can't really explain why these rocks have formed, and they are intriguing. They are limestone and thin pieces that formed in horizontal layers. Unbelievable. They sit right on the sea and the surf pounds them at all times. There are little caverns where the tide comes in and booms itself up against the rock. The sound is deep and deafining. I just stood in amazed at this natural occurrance. It was beautiful. From here, I headed back to the hostal and then over to the bar for dinner. I met one of the owners, Pete, and we chatted a bit until it got busy. After some food and a couple of beers (NZ beer is really good), I headed back to the hostal to watch the sunset. This was another highlight. To see the sunset in the southern hemisphere over the Tasman Sea...these are things you do not duplicate. This is why I took this trip! It was a golden orange and with a perfectly cloudless sky, the sun whispered over the horizon. The glow remained for 30 minutes after. I just sat in silence. Watching...soaking it all in. I will never forget this site. The next morning, I work up and enjoyed some more time on the beach before packing up and catching my bus in town. From here the beach to the ice...
The bus ride was quite nice from Punakaiki to Franz Josef Glacier. We crossed two bridges that were not only one lane, but also doubled as train tracks. It was crazy! Our driver had to make sure a train wasn't coming before entering the bridge! Kiwi's really are crazy!!! We passed through a couple of small towns and pretty much followed the coastline. It was amazing to have the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. I think that's what makes this country so unique. It's the size of Colorado and yet they have beaches, mountains, glaciers, rainforests, lakes and everything else all crammed into it. We stopped for a meal break and I did a little more shopping...get excited Mom! I only have one more Christmas gift to buy. Then we were on to Franz Josef. This was another very small town...maybe 10 buildings total and it was all aimed at tourists. I checked into a great hostal. Glowworm Cottages and had a room with four beds and a private bathroom. This private bathroom thing is great! There were already two people in there and the one girl had a huge, I mean you could fit a child in it, bright pink suitcase! Really...why. Anyhow, I decided to book a glacier hike for the next day. I was really excited about seeing this and learning more about it. For the evening, I cooked at the hostal (oh yeah, did I mention that I'm eating Ramin noddles again...) and hung out with some people. The next morning was early and I packed a bunch of layers and my lunch into my backpack. Then off to meet the hiker people. There office was very busy. Apparantly, they only let a certain number of hikers on the glacier in a day. Well, the day before, the glacier moved more than usual and some of their hiking bridges had collasped and it was deemed unsafe to hike. Thanks for the info! So glad I have paid to do this. So, there were twice as many people hiking today. I was issued a pair of boots, these metal spike things to put on the bottom of the boots and a gortex jacket. Then, loaded on a bus and we were on our way to the glacier. I paid for the full day of hiking. It was more like a half day of hiking and a half day of standing around. This was by far the worst thing I have done and if you are coming here, you can skip it. Because of the number of people climbing and all the ice movement, they were developing new paths to hike while we were hiking. We would climb and then stand around for 20 minutes and then hike. And I was not standing on something solid. I'm talking...on the edge of ice looking down into an ice cavern. Ok, the cool things...I now know where the term "ice blue" comes from. It was just beautiful the different shades of blue we saw. The thicker the ice, the better the color. Many of the caverns and drops and holes had some of the best color. We walked through some very narrow passages and had to climb through some holes in the ice. This was all fun, but only lasted maybe 15 minutes of my 7 hour hiking day. The glacier itself is just daunting! It is just a wall of ice at the bottom and becomes a maze in the middle. From a nature side of things, it's just incredible. The other great thing was the surrounding scenary. The glacier sits in a deep valley and you don't have any real perspective because the walls of the valley are so steep. It's one of the steepest things I have ever seen. They were covered in trees and several waterfalls. This part was stunning. We also had the opportunity to stand on the major fault line in the country - you could see the break in the mountain from it. Yeah, since most of you know how much I enjoy earthquakes, you will understand how much I hated having this information! Needless to say, at the end of the day, I was happy to turn in my boots and put my gym shoes back on. It was adventurous, but I guess I'm more of a beach girl than an ice girl.
This morning I loaded the bus for Queenstown. I almost missed the bus and had to practically run to catch it. That would have sucked to be stuck in Franz for another night. Anyhow, again, another amazing drive. Today we drove though more mountains and over to the Fox Glacier and then we continued on south through the country. We covered rainforests, the Tasman Sea and then back into the mountains. It was great to watch the vegetation change along the way. We had a couple of scenic stops and I saw a great waterfall along the trip. The rivers are always really fun to watch. Some of them had grey water while others have that seafoam green color to them. Queenstown in the capital for adventure activities. It's the home of the bungy jump for those that may not know. I however, am staying closer to the ground for my adventure. Tomorrow I will be whitewater rafting and riding the Shotover Jet Boat. There will be an update on these activities in a couple of days.
Thank you all for sending along little notes. It's nice to be able to hear from those I love. This has been an incredible trip thus far and I am halfway done. I feel so blessed to be here and experiencing this.
I have also learned a couple of things along the way and feel as though I should pass along my knowledge...
1. Be careful who you sit next to on the bus...you may have to hear about their bladder control issues.
2. Toothpaste really does stop bug bites from itching.
With that, I am off to celebrate my birthday! Much love!!! CJ
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Rachel
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Professional Glacier Hiker!!!
So beach girl, hiking up a big slab of ice is not your thing... Makes for a great story anyhow! Can't wait to hear about your birthday celebration, Kiwi Style!!!! Keep on trekking! (Preferrably on horseback)