Blogs from Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

Hokitika je městečko na West Coast, které svůj název dostalo podle stejnojmenné řeky a znamená "rovný, přímka", jelikož tak vypadá zmíněná řeka. V minulosti to bylo především zlatokopecké město a dodnes se tu těží greenstone ("zelenokámen nebo nefrit"). Maoři tento kámen dávali darem pouze těm, kterých si opravdu vážili, protože pro ně měl velkou cenu. Svou cenu si kámen zachovává dodnes. Můžete si v místním obchůdku zakoupit nejen samotný neopracovaný kamínek, ale také šperky s hodnotou převyšující 100 NZD. Hřebem dnešního dne je bezpochyby návštěva ledovce Franz Josef (jeho objevitel ho pojmenoval po císařpánovi). Vlastně poprvé v životě vidím na živo ledovec. Musím uznat, že jeho barva je neskutečně zářivá, tak křišťálově modrou jsem ještě neviděla. Škoda jen, že ho rok co rok ubývá. Ledovců je prý na jižním ostrově mnoho, ale mezi ty nejznámější patří ... read more

We had a good day yesterday, weather-wise. It was therefore reasonable to assume, we concluded, that the New Zealand summer would get itself back on track, now that the cyclonic disturbances of the past week were history. You can imagine our surprise, then , at the immediate resumption of rain the moment we started our engines. Once again hoping that it would be a localised shower, we pressed on with the planned detour off the direct route, which was a side trip to Arthur’s Pass. And on this occasion it worked out – a nice ride into the mountains, broken cloud, twisty roads and some great scenery. Hanging a left at Greymouth, we went through the town of Moana, for those of you with small children and / or Disney movie addictions, on to Arthur’s Pass, ... read more

Today we arose early for our helicopter ride to the top of the Franz Joseph glacier. What a beautiful view of the highest peaks in the Southern Alps, with the highest being Mt. Cook at 12,500 feet. This is summer in New Zealand and the mountains are still snow capped. Most interesting is the Franz Joseph glacier is a warm weather glacier, starting at the mountain top and coming down the mountain into a tropical rain forest. The glacier exchanges itself every few years advancing down the valley and then retreat in back up the valley. Below the valley is a wasteland created by the glacier as it moved up and down the valley based on the snowfall they receive in the winter. Due to global warming, for those of us that believe it is real, ... read more

The Westland area of the South Island takes you from the temperate areas of Westport complete with palm trees and one of the top ten coastal drives in the world, past lakes and rivers into glacier territory further down south. First stop on our way down towards the glaciers was at the Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes. These are halfway between Greymouth and Westport, and are rock formations weathered and beaten by the pounding surf over the last 100,000 years. An extensive walkway easily accessible for wheelchairs goes around and back, to do the full loop requires a bit of mobility to descend a steep stone staircase. The Punakaiki rocks are layered formations, with surge pools of foaming white water and blowholes at high tide sending sea mist up metres in the air. An information centre, toilets, ... read more

Prior to leaving the West coast to traverse the Haast Pass to points east, I had two last things to do. First was to view Lake Matheson. This was an hour and a half walk around the lake where you were supposed to see majestic reflections of the mountains of the area, including Mount Cook, reflected in the still waters of Lake Matheson. Alas, it was overcast, little sun, and the mountains were in cloud cover. The reflections basically were non-existent. Quite disappointing. Since I had come all this way I had to see at least one glacier. So off I went to hike to Fox Glacier's viewpoint, a return hike of about an hour. I viewed the glacier from afar but as close as you could get unless you took a guided tour. It is ... read more