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Published: February 13th 2007
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The glaciers were....not exactly what I expected but amazing none-the-less. There are two well known glaciers on the east coast of the south island- Fox and Franz Joseph Glacier- no where else in the world are glaciers at similar coordinates and still advancing. (Again- pictures to come) but it was exciting to hike up to these huge glaciers- flying from rock to rock to get to the base of the glaciers- and be at the bottom of a massive ice formation emerging between 2 mountains. We didn't do a tour of the glacier- which wouldve been kind of cool- they take you all the way up the glacier with all the necessary materials- but it was enough to climb up a little on my own- and save the $100 or more that they charge for that activitiy! So the glaciers were interesting- something different then i've never seen before- we saw both glaciers in one day and then headed down the coast to Haast and found a nice spot on the beach to set up camp.
From the east coast we cut in and found a beautiful lake area- Lake Waheu (i think) and spent 2 nights there- tried some
Mouth of the glacier
that's all ice behind me fishing- unsucessful- saw some beautiful sunsets over picturesque lakes- and it's so so so nice how the sun sets a little after 9:00 PM here! Jo went to school for a year for photography- so he has a really, REALLY nice camera and all the little toys to go along with it- so it's been really fun taking pictures with his camera as well- there is so much to taking a picture- and once you get a good shot it's something to be proud of- that you were really the one taking the picture- not just snapping and shooting.
The following day as we were driving to our next destination we saw a mountian before us that we decided we wanted to climb- so we clothed ourselves appropriately and took up for the mountain. An ambitious task we gave ourselves- there was no trail and so we were trudging through pretty thick grasses and such- passing through a sheep farm- and the mountains in general out here are MASSIVE- really steep- something i think we underestimated- so we made it about half way- which was a fulfilling enough accomplishment for us.
We made our way to Queenstown and
have been here the last 2 nights. It's a really cute town- a little touristy- on a lake with beautiful mountains and tons of freaking bugs!
The last week and a half we have just gotten attacked by bugs- these stupid sand flies- they are so frusterating- i probably have about 50 bug bites all over my body- probably more- the bug spray helps sometimes- but ive just been scratching the hell out of myself at nights- the worst part about the trip for sure! I've found the bugs provide an opportunity to pracitce a meditation on distraction and discomfort- but failing miserably at the meditation of the bug bites... ;/
Jo and I rented mountian bikes and went for a killer ride yesterday. It was pretty hardcore- difficult uphills- through grass- which was pretty difficult to peddle through- and the single tracks were literally just about an inch wider that our tires...and the downhills were super intense- more so than anything at home i think- i walked down most of it...haha- took the first hill aggressively then remembered a few of my crashes on simliar hills and decided not to chance it. But it felt SOOOOOOO good
Laundry by the river
washing clothes in the river and hanging them for a good afternoon drying to be back on a bike- and such amazing views from the bike ride- defiently got a good work out in yesterday and it felt awesome!
Haven't been spending much time in any of the towns- we kind of just crusie through and find a spot to set up camp just out of the towns....last night marking the 13th night of this- definetly being challenged a little bit of the simplicity of a camping type lifestyle- but it's been easy to embrace- feeling a little urge to spend a night out on the town- go out dancing- meet some new people- but right now the wilderness experience has been what I've wanted- and what i've come to NZ for.
Tomorrow I'm meeting up with a girl named Amy- from Colorado- i met her at the airport in Fiji- and she offered me an extra ticket for the Milford trek- a 4 day trek- which is supposed to be one of the world's most beautiful hikes! i can't wait!! i'm meeting up with her tomorrow and we will be trekking the 15th-18th- im really looking forward to it- but a little nervous of my fitness level- compared to her-
Queenstown
a view from the bike path she's been doing treks basically for the whole last month- and besides my occasional mountain climb or bike ride i haven't been overly active- so it will be an interesting physical test- im pretty sure ill be up for it!
Ill write and hopefully add pictures after the Milford trek!
An itchy good bye for now!
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