Blogs from Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We spent the night in an eco lodge in Franz Josef. It was a very nice place. The rain forest was literally out on our back patio. Its weird. there are not very many animals out here. No large mammals, mostly small animals and a lot of birds. They did mess up the ecology, though. Kiwi birds are flightless and raise their young in burrows. The Europeans introduced rabbits for food and fur. Soon there were too many rabbits, so they introduced Skotes, which are like Ferrets, only a little smaller. The idea was that they would get the rabbits and control the population. But the Skotes figured out that the baby Kiwis were easier to catch than the rabbits, so they ate them almost to extinction. They are now an endangered species. So, the next ... read more

Arriving in the torrential rain, Franz Joseph was still every bit as beautiful as we remembered. The one 'main' street - consisting of a couple of bars/restaurants, a small grocery store, a gift shop and many an flight company offering scenic tours and heli hiking - is accompanied by a smaller second offering just behind it with mainly campsites nestled in the bush. Looking up that main street, when the views are clear, the towering snow capped peaks steal your attention instantly. Franz Joseph exists because of its glacier, snaking down the valley and carving our the mountain side to the village. Our purpose then was to see this mighty, living block of ice once more. Taking the moraine trail, just a short walk through more bush before opening up to the vast flat gravelly valley ... read more

Day 40 – half way through our trip. Today we have a 180 mile drive north to Franz Josef Glacier. It didn’t sound far when we planned it, but NZ roads are narrow and windy with few passing places. Add in the bus loads of Chinese tourists and the RVs full of British pensioners and basically 180 miles means driving all day. First I go for a jog round Lake Wanaka. I plan to run to Wanaka’s top attraction; #ThatWanakaTree – it’s a tree growing in the middle of the lake. I wonder if I will be able to locate a lone tree in the dawn half-light but I needn’t have worried, it’s easy to spot the ring of photographers on the bank. The wind blowing across the lake is intense. A century ago some mad ... read more

Akaora to Franz Joseph via Arthurs Pass in torrential rain I think the place between Arthurs Pass and Franz Joseph may well be the most beautiful scenery ever - sadly the rain only allowed us to glimpse the tiniest part of it. I do have to say it is spectacular to drive along roads that have waterfalls crashing down onto them. Even if the 100 to 200 foot drops off the side of the road in torrential rain was terrifying. We also drove through clouds which was both weird and cool. I will have to go back to see how stunning this scenery really is because the sneak previews were stunning. Franz Joseph to Queenstown via Wanaka Another day of just driving through amazing county-side with no time to stop and enjoy it. I will be ... read more

September 8, 2010Our arrival at Auckland Airport was smooth; we had slept most of the flight and woke ready to tackle wild New Zealand! I was apprehensive as we approached the baggage scanners. No, I was not smuggling contraband, only 10 jars of calamondin jelly that Bob had insisted I bring along to share with the locals. When the agent said: "Ma'am, I notice you are carrying some glass jars. They don’t contain honey, do they?" I answered, “No, only marmalade to share with our hosts” and he was satisfied! We soon learned that NZ is truly an agricultural country and that Kiwis (yes, that’s what they like to be called) go to great lengths to protect that supporter of ... read more