Franz Jospeh Glacier

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Into our final stretch back home we stopped at the Franz Joseph Glacier. The glacier is located on the West Coast of the South Island. It is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 200 metres above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest. The area surrounding the glacier is designated a World Heritage Site. We plan to spend a full day hiking up the glacier at some point, but the kids did not have the reserves to take on the climb this time. However, I talked everyone in to "stretching their legs" with a short walk to get a better look at the glacier. I sold it on the basis of a 30 minute walk, but it turned into a couple of hours.

The weather is often very poor in this area but we were blessed with spectacular weather (sun and clear skies - what the local weather reports call "fine"). We initially walked up to the viewing point which is located some distance from the actual glacier, but seeing others walking further on, we elected to walk to the next closer observation post. This section of the walk is through the boulder field below the glacier and was slow going. At this point, the kids were tired (and getting closer to the face was increasingly dangerous) so I went on to the face of the terminus by myself. Standing at the base of this glacier was humbling. It is huge. I had to be extremely cautious as rocks and ice would (without much warning) fall from time. I took a few pictures and turned back. Heading back, Josh had had it, and finished the trip back to the car on my shoulders.

Another 2 hours saw us arrive back on Jacobson Street in Reefton. While it still does not feel like home, it increasingly feels like home away from home. With a ton of laundry to do, we settled into a home cooked meal and watched an hour or so of television before settling into our now familiar beds.

Our mini-trip was terrific, but as is often the case, it was good to be back.

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Photos

The Franz Joseph Glacier
A classic shot of an impressive glacier

Comments

[CanadianKiwis]

???????
next time please refrain from using big words as some readers do not know what they mean

[CanadianKiwis]

Big Words
You can always ask your parents what the big words mean

[Ruth Ann]

Re Big Words
You can ask your parents what the big words mean however, the reality is that Paul tends to create words as he goes along. Even if you ask your parents, without the PEH Dictionary - you will still be stymied!