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Published: December 11th 2008
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Franz Josef was absolutely amazing...and other than the gaping blisters on my heels...the hike was great...We got to the glacier guides office around 9:30 and got kitted out in all our gear...including pants (too hot to wear), jacket (too hot to wear), boots (very uncomfortable), hat (too hot to wear), gloves (once again, too hot wear) and my favorite part of the outfit CRAMPONS...Then they shuttled us over to the base of the glacier where we had to hike 2.5k to the ice...We were walking through rivers and up and over waterfalls...Once we got to the glacier we stapped on our CRAMPONS (I'm looking into buying a pair) and headed up the ice...Whilst we were hiking our guide would have to stop periodically and hack steps into the ice...We went through caves and this really narrow gaps that you had to shuffle through sideways...After 9 hours on the ice we finally made it back to the bus...Everyone was soo tired from the day that we called it an early night...Then next day we woke up early and hopped on the bus for Wanaka...On the way we stopped at a really pretty mirror lake called Matheson...From there we drove through Haast Pass
to the Wanaka...The city is on the shores of a beautiful lake...It was kind of like Tahoe but even better....We dropped our stuff at the hostel and booked on for a boat to go wakeboarding...The guy took us out for 3 hours and the water was absolute glass the whole time...He even busted out a wakesurf board which Elizabeth and I conquered...On our first try might I add...The next day we left Wanaka for Queenstown..."The Adventure Capital of Australia"...On the way we stopped at this stupid place called Puzzling World...DONT GO...We felt like kids on a kindergarten field trip...On our way to Queenstown we stopped at the K bridge which was the first place bungy was invented...That night we went out to a place called World Bar...Kiwis think of the most bizarre things...They serve alcohol in tea pots...The next day we went to do the NEVIS BUNGY!!! It is the 3rd highest in the world at 134m...They strap you into a open air gondola and take you to a suspened room hanging above an huge gorge...In there they strap you legs into these harnesses and then shuffle you into this chair...Then they attach your feet to the bungee and you
have to carefully walk out to the ledge...From there they count down from 5 and you have to jump...It was soooo intense...8 seconds of free fall!!!! We were so amped on it we almost did it again...If only I had deep pockets...The next day we made the mistake of booking Milford Sound...Don't get me wrong, it was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen...But New Zealand seems to full of similar sights...We spent 9 hours on a bus to and from the sound and 3 hours on a ferry...I, of course, was looking forward to the inclusive buffet...Only to be disappointed by the low quality of the food...The underwater observatory was another highlight...But of course, it was a room with a viewing window into green murky water...We did see a huge rock slide, but other than that it was 12 hours of expensive scenery...Tomorrow we head for Christchurch which will be our last stop on the Kiwi Experience...Hope everyone is doing well!!! Miss you all!!! K and E
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