http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , South Island , Glaciers en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:41:17 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:41:17 UTC We stopped at Fox Glacier for a few photos and we did a Helihike up Franz Josef Glacier. http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-347054.html Hey all sorry its been a while but I'm in New Zealand. and it's action packed and full of adventure so I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog. Since landing in Christchurch last week on Wednesday we have been doing a tour of the South Island. We started in Christchurch NZ's third biggest city and after watching a thrilling game between Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions Lea http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-280580.html Hokitika hat einen ganz netten Glockenturm. Ansonsten fahren in dieser Stadt auch nachts laut hupende und schnaubende diesellokgetriebene Gterzge mitten durchs Wohngebiet. Mit anderen Worten wenig attraktiv. Warum ausgerechnet hier reisebusseweise Asiaten zum Knipsen losgelassen werden ist uns schleierhaft. Wir fliehen zum Ianthe See und zur Lagune in Okarito.Die Namensgebung in diesem Land is http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-270169.html As we made our way down the west coast the first thing we came across was the Pancake Rocks these were rocks that had layered very thinly on top of each other that looked like guess what...pancakes They were really cool and the sea around them was very rough that water kept blowing up through blow holes which was quite a sight too. Next on the agenda were the glaciers Franz Josef and Fox. Whe http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-261833.html Ok I think I have to say this was teh best part of the trip yet.....we arrived at Franz Joseph Glacier late and found a rainforest campsite to stay had a couple of drinks and dinner and then hit the sack....In the morning we set off for Franz Joseph where we did a walk to the mirror lake and to the base of the glacier ......we then jumped in the van and drove to Fox where we enjoyed the best heli http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-258817.html Paasin liikkeelle vasta klo 10. Oli pilvipoutainen paiva. Pysahdyin ensin pikkukaupungissa ja sitten nettituokiolle Franz Josefissa. Kavin katsomassa ensin Franz Josefin jaatikkoa. Jaatikon naki hyvin vaikka en mennytkaan erityisen lahelle. Foxin kylassa aloin soitella sitten majoitusta itselleni Haastiin. Tilaa oli vasta viidennessa paikassa josta yhden hengen huone irtosi 85 dollarilla eli no http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-258143.html 232512 Rainforest Retreat Franz Josef GlacierWe drove first to Hokitika where we were planning to stay for christmas but then saw it was to boring so we went on. We got a motelroom with a private bathroom but the kitchen was horrible and we had planned to cook dinner all over Christmas On Christmas Eve we just took it easy and in the evening we went to mass. On Christmas day we looked a http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-245745.html We are trampers all right We packed sooo much into the next two days it was unbelievable We woke up and headed right for another adventure kayaking the Okarita lagoon We got there midday and rented two single kayaks and headed off to observe the wildlife We should have had amazing mountain views but that morning the clouds werent agreeing with us so we basically just saw about 50 b http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-243129.html We had a relatively long drive to Franz Joseph. As in much of Arkansas distances have no real meaning. The North Island roads are similar to HWY 65 north of Conway to Branson. The East coast of the South Island is like the Pig Trail on the way to Fayetteville or the roads leading into Eureka Springs. I am thankful that we first cut our teeth on North Island driving. The South Island throws in oth http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-237862.html Here we are in Queenstown now can not believe that we are getting through this country so fast. I guess it is because the last time we were driving Oz and it seemed to take forever to get anywhere as it is so vast The drive here was stunning the scenery was as if it has been painted on.Along our way we have visited the pancake rocks which are strange rock formations that are flat like pancakes http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-213836.html There was rain overnighthellipnot a good sign for what the weather was going to be like for the day. There had even been a light snowfall and the mountains are clouded in. Today we are booked at 9.15am to do a helihike on Franz Joseph Glacier how exciting This combines a brief helicopter ride to about 23rds up on the glacier then a hike for 23 hours. So this means another early morning http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-211644.html so we have now hit the west coast of new zealand.we spent a day at the buller gorge and went on a zip swing across the river which was pretty coolthen we headed down to punakaiki where we went to see the pancake rocks and blow holes. it was a great day weather wise but beacuse it was so sunny the blow holes didnt work as the tide was too calm but the rocks were still cool there were awsome views http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-155613.html Being used to early starts by now we got up before sunrise to do a walk around the base of Franz Joseph glacier as we were going to hike up the Fox glacier later that day. On the way we saw a lake which had the clearest reflection of Franz Joseph see the picture. Unfortunatley due to high demand we were unable to do the full day hike up Fox glacier as we had hoped. Instead we did the half d http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-151351.html As we headed back up the west coast we reached the fox and st francis glaciers. We took a helicopter flight over the gaciers to get a birds eye view and actually landed on top of the mountains in the snow. hannah did a hike through the ice but me and jade were being too lazy as it was uphill so didnt do that bit.It was really cool flying over all the snow you can see where the ice has water in it http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-145271.html Well we are here and after a night in Christchurch we collected our brand new only 600 Km on clock Blue Moon Van and set off for a visit to Akoroa a small peninsula town with French orgins about sixty kilometres from Christchurch. We walked visited the museum ahd delicious fish and chips and freedom camped in down at Le Bons Bay an even more isolated locations infact we belived we might http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-143550.html Ok so it does rain on the west coast But is that going to deter us from having a fantastic day on the ice nah So here it goes Hiking on Franz Josef Glacier A group of nine hiking enthusiasts and our most handsome guide Troy Can he ever hit away at that ice to carve the steps for us tourists So after a bushhike through the rainforest we reached the bottom of the glacier put on http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-131622.html Our first stop to day is Punakaika about 40km north of Greymouth there is a short board walk along the coast here that allows access to some pretty interesting and unusual limestone formations. The rocks have a layered affect hence their name Pancake Rocks there are also some impressive blow holes but we missed the tide so missed the show but it was a beautiful place and very photogenic ofcour http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-129210.html On the way to Te Taho to catch up with a friend of Dave's. Along the way we stopped at Ross an old gold mining town. We did a walk of water race that was used to supply the gold miners with water the alluvial mining operations. They washed all the silt down the valleys and got it at the bottom then extracted the gold. The largest gold nugget ever found in NZ was found here and was 99oz in 1907. http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-127142.html Guys guys guys appologies for the lack of blogs recently but I've been a busy bunny. This one will have very few words but some amazing picturesLast week can only be described as amazing. I had a three day field trip where I got paid to tour the South Island eating out every night and staying in some nice hotels while learning some very interesting facts about the geology and geography of Ne http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-126498.html Thursday woke up to find the clouds gone and a beautiful snowcapped mountain outside our door. So we went for a walk to see the Franz Josef glacier we got pretty close to it but didn't actually walk on it. Close up glaciers are not pristine and white but dirty covered with soil and rocks and the meltwater that flows out of them is milky grey with silt. Access to the area immediately in f http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-112992.html The drive down to Fox was amazing. Just fabulously gorgeous. Mountain views Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman I think all the way along. I kept stopping to take pics. The roads were fine. There was a 100k limit 50k through the towns. They were a bit bendy but not much different from a countryish A road in the UK. Every now and then though there were some major bendy bits You get signs saying that the http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-110730.html Phils Day...Today I went Ice Climbing on the Franz Josef Glacier. The day started at 7.45am where we met our 2 glacier guides and 7 more participants 8 including myself. We headed off up the Franz Josef valley in a rickety old van which had a fragant smell of probably hundreds of other peoples sweat. nice. We parked and started walking up the valley until we met the glacier's terminal face the http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-107527.html After doing some sight seeing down the West Coast of South Island I would then come to the Glaciers. Fox and Franz Josif.On my previous trip to New Zealand I did a day walk up the Franz Josif Glacier which was great. This time however I wanted to have a go at Ice Climbing and check out Fox glacier.With the day walk previous trip the guide cuts steps in the ice for you. This was good but this http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-105580.html And on to the main event. I Was rudely awakened at an hour before 8am i'm not sure which one to go on an ICe Climbing trip. During the gear allocation you start to realise that there might be some proper physical exertion involved. We get given special Ice Boots lethal looking Ice picks apparently very painful if used in the wrong manner Crampons as well as heavy duty climbing ropes being d http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-104482.html made it from fox glacier in one piece. we couldn't get on the full day hike it was well full. so we bummed around town for a couple of hours and went out to lake matheson to kill time. we managed to book ourselves for the afternoon halfday hike. thankfully the weather held up and we took in some spectacular views. apparently some of the scenes from lord of the rings were shot at both franz http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-101517.html hoping i'm not speaking too soon but there's actually sun out this morning the weather cleared up a bit last night making the mountains visible in the distance. we were thinking of going back out to franz josef glacier to retake some pix but all of our gear was still soaked. somehow i don't think we would have made it just wearing flipflops...we're just about to leave for fox glacier about http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-101394.html SORRY TO KEEP REMINDING BUT THERE ARE TWO ENTRIES FOR QUEENSTOWN PRIOR TO THIS BLOG IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY SEEN THEM...Just dont want you all to miss outOh my lord what an experience we have had these past few days. I dont even think words can even describe it and we hope the pictures do it justice. We had a very early start on Thursday and it was so cold in Queenstown..cant wait for the hot su http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-93888.html After the delights of Abel Tasman national park and all the lovely wine of Marlborough we headed off to Christchurch to stay with Grahamrsquos good friend Tim. It was a relief to be out of the campervan for a few nights. Charming and lovely as it is to be so independent Timrsquos spare divan was like five star luxury to us after three weeks of sleeping on a converted kitchen table. On their http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-93631.html And so we hit off on our trusty steed read battered rental Corolla following the spectactulour Tranzalpine trail through the Southern Alps from Christchurch to the west coast through Arthurs Pass. The scenery chosen as the Misty Mountains for LOTR was fantastic and we stopped a couple of times to head off on a tramp or walk through the forestry and mountains to waterfalls and scenic vie http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-93112.html Having finished her university course Rachael joined me in Christchurch and we travelled across to the West Coast on the TranzAlpine train. This is often named as one of the greatest rail journeys in the world passing through the Southern Alps a spectacular area of snowcapped mountains ond gorges. At Greymouth we hired a car and drove to Fox Glacier where we booked ourselves on to a 'helihi http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Glaciers/blog-88667.html