The Inspiring Mt. Aspiring Park & the Glaciers

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Checked out of our room and head to an internet cafe to book our next two nights in Franz Joseph (alittle behind on booking a room). Hit the road and took the West Coast turn off out of Wanaka on another lucky blue morning. This route took us through the flat wide bottom of a valley and passed by a golf course that I caught Kerry gazing at longingly. We reached Lake Hawea which was as clear as glass as there was no wind in the air today. Climbing hills with the lake at our feet, the far side of the water was flanked by mountains dark in colour and faces that ran vertical straight into the shore. Starting to see less yellow and more green with trees and shrubs which added to the lushness of the landscape. The view really changes in a blink of an eye here. Both the road and lake snaked along the mountainside and we stopped to take some panoramic pictures. Saying goodbye to Lake Hawea and a sudden hello to Lake Wanaka as we turned the bend. Stopped again farther down the road for more photo ops and I should also mention that I am now an expert at taking pictures from a moving vehicle. We travel along steep mountain road and the coastline here is stunning, rimmed with tourquoise water and the sun making it sparkle bright.

We left the lake to enter a pasture which abruptly ended as we plunged into the forest of Mnt. Aspiring National Park, another World Heritage Site. All of a sudden every inch of ground was covered in thick trees. I think we both had a Holy Sh*t kinda moment when we burst our of the tree lined highway into a wide tree filled valley with huge snow covered mountains in the background. Back into the dense forest we went, just waiting for our next incredible view. We were starting our journey through the Southern Alps towards the West Coast. We wished we had more time to spend here as there were track after track to explore within the park. This drive was mindblowing. We passed into a narrow valley with tall, skinny trees on mountains so high they blocked out the sun then travelled over a steep bridge over the Haast River to start our descent. Stopped further down the river to gaze at the perfect view of the park rimmed with massive snowy mountains. I wish I knew which one was Mt. Aspiring though.

Following the river towards Haast it created a wide berth between the mountains creating more rocky beach than water. We seemed to be travelling through more of a rainforest as giant ferns peek out of the trees alongside the road. Clouds are starting to creep in and cling to the tops of the mountains. It will be my turn to drive once we reach Haast and Kerry's turn to take in the view. We've now been on the road two hours but it seems much shorter than that. Once out of the deep forest, the flat plain straightened our road and took us into Haast where we grabbed a quick lunch and hit the road again.

We were very close to the coast now and quickly got our first glimpse of the ocean. The water was clear blue and the surf pounded against the rocky shoreline. There were curious trees along the beach whose limbs where permanently bench sideways parallel to the ground almost as if straining against a heavy wind. The view of the sea was shortlived unfortunately, and we climbed again into the hills. Lots of pasture and one way bridges now and it made for a fun drive.

We reached Fox Glacier and pulled into the parking lot, ready for the short walk to the viewing point. Lots of tour buses and cars there and it was buzzing with tourists. Walking along the path we could see where the glacier had retreated and created those vertical walls in the mountainside similar to what we had seen in Milford Sound. We caught our first glimpse at Fox Glacier as we climbed to the top of the path and it was amazing. A great mass of ice took up the width of the valley. It was white, grey and a greenish/blue colour with a stream that took aways it's melt. We got pretty close and took pictures and video that turned out pretty disappointing due to the grey day. Back to the car and off to Franz Joseph.

We descended down the snakiest road I've even been on and managed only to hit 30kmh. I'm glad I wasnt the passenger for this ride and I'm sure Kerry wasnt thrilled to take that role either. Once in Franz Joseph we easily found our hotel as its a very tiny place. An obvious base for all the glacier and tramping activities in the area. We opted out of a glacier tour as we didnt have the clothing for it and decided on just trying out the tracks around FJ. Our motel sucked as I think they built it out of cardboard. Either that or the people above us had lead for feet. We were across from the hostel portion of the "retreat" and next to the bar/restaurant. It made for some noisy nights! As well, we had a weird bathroom where the shower was basically the whole room with just a curtain to stop water from spraying everywhere. On the good news though, we found a cheap happy hour at a restaurant and paid only $5.50 per jug of beer!! Of course we ate there every night between 5-6pm promptly!

Had an early 6am morning thanks to the jerkoffs checking out. Got up and made a hearty brekkie of coffee, eggs, bacon, toast and baked beans.....just what you need for a day of tramping! It was a grey day as we took the short drive to Franz Joseph Glacier. Once there, we took the Sentinel Rock Walk which was a short walk with a hill steep enough to get your heart pumping. Once at the end, we were treated to a spectacular viewpoint of the glacier. Much the same in colour and situation of Fox Glacier, I like this one better due to the surroundings and the fact that alittle blue sky peaked out and lit the peak into a bright white. The view would have been better if we could proceed from that point but due to a change in the river, the path was closed at this point. Looking at some old pictures of the glacier, it seemed to me that instead of receeding, it was increasing in size. I must look that up on the internet. Back down the hill to the shorter walk for a different view.

Once in the parking lot again, we looked at the map to decide which walks were were going to do. Some combined into others, so we started out on the Peter's Pond track. Once at the pond, it proved to be a little gem of a view of FJG. The water in the pond was calm and mirrored the mountains and glacier and made for a great picture. After a brief stop at a perfectly appointed bench, we set off again. It was a gravel track lined with rainforest and reminded me of hiking at home, very much the same mossy trees and ferns. We reached a big suspension bridge that only 5 people could cross at a time (of course I had to jump around and shake it as I walked behind Kerry). Once across we took the Roberts Point track only to find it closed due to rockfall. Turned around and started on the Douglas Walk instead. All in all, we walked for about 2 hours and only ran into about 3 people. It was nice and peaceful in the cool forest, the fresh rain really brought out the smell of earth and leaves.

Once back at the motel, I spent 2 hours looking for accomodation at Hanmer Springs. We wanted to stop there on route to the east coast as they have great thermal springs and spas. No luck, unless we wanted to spend alot of cash for a room. Decided instead to drive coast to coast and spend acouple days in Kaikoura.

Hopefully it will be quieter tonight!

Once

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