Blogs from Franz Josef, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 41

Ok so left Christchurch and jumped on the Trans Alpine train across from Christchurch to Greymouth and it was such a stunning journey. It would be great to see the contrast of the mountains in winter aswell- maybe the next trip!!. It took about 4 hours but was well worth it. We finally arrived in Greymouth to glorious sunshine. Most people then get on a coach down to Franz Josef Glacier but our trip said that we should go to Barrytown. I checked with the driver that we were getting on the correct bus and asked him whether he would drop us off in the town centre and he just laughed.... now i know why. When he stopped outside this tavern he joked about the fact that we had to get off quickly before the place ... read more

so, I know you might think i am crazy, but i assure you, i am not, nor am I an adrenaline junky, but i do love great scenery and their is nothing better than the skies to see the mountains, right? So since the weather turned out to be just right, i decided to jump out of a plane again! actually this is the jump i had my eyes set on from the get-go, and now after Taupo, and getting the first one out of the way, this is the place to just simply ENJOY the jump! And did I ever!!! The Fox and Franz Skydive company ( for Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers) is a very small outfit, with a very small plane, that can only take two jumpers up at a time, . ... read more

A la demande generale, enfin des photos! Le concept est simple: Anik et Mathieu se posant dans la nature alors que pas d'allure Vince boit la bouteille de vin blanc dans le char (seule facon de me tenir tranquille parait-il...) Arrivee Remarquee: Quel beau cadeau pour la fete des amoureux: Cupidon en personne! Un peu gaze de quelques heures de transportement (un anglicisme surement), il a rapidement replonger Mats dans une spirale de boisson. Rien a dire vraiment la dessus, a part que le nightlife n'a pas ete un succes ce soir la. Abel Tasman: Premier arret apres la traversee en ferry, on m'avait dit que j'allais faire du kayak dans ce parc national des plus reconnus, mais Niko m'a vire ca en "se perdre dans le sentier parce qu'on suit des allemands qui savent pas ... read more

We had a free morning in Barrytown to chill out so we headed to the beach to look for Greenstone (Jade) which is big business here. I found some nice stones but Dorit, a German friend of ours found some actual jade. We went to Hokitika which is packed with Jade factories before heading to Franz Josef, famous for the glacier. We had the afternoon free to relax. Today I booked onto the heli-hike which is a helicopter ride up onto the glacier followed by 2 hours hiking on the ice. Unfortunately it was cloudy in the morning so we had to put the flight back to the afternoon. It was still cloudy but at least got as far as the heicopter. They took us up to the glacier but they couldn't see the landing site ... read more

We arrived at the Helihike place on time and the weather today is absolutely superb so we are confident we will be going. At 9am we walked to the Helipad where we kitted up and were put into groups, Ruth and I were in a group with most of the old people which turned out to suck a bit but the experience was still one of the best ever. I have been in a helicopter before but this was a little been daunting with all the cliffs and walls the pilots enjoyed getting so close too. The trip up took about seven minutes and was spectacular, we landed about three quarters up the Glacier and started strapping on our crampons soon after. The group full of younger people were already gone when we arrived so we ... read more