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Published: January 18th 2008
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Fox Glacier
First View of the Glacier Fox Glacier
Firstly I have to say that this will be another photo-less entry as my current workstation is not USB-enabled for the public. This is a shame as my photos of the Fox Glacier are amongst my favourites. I'll try to add them when I get a chance.
Anyway, we left Queenstown at around 10 in the morning knowing that we had a long journey ahead of us. Our travels along the west coast would only be interrupted by one overnight stop, so that we faced two full days of driving. Fortunately, it was along roads which took us through the most spectacular scenery you could imagine.
The most striking aspect of this leg of the journey was the transition into an almost tropical climate with rainforests encroaching on to the very verges of the road. Quite often, the arching trees would frame a view of an immense snow-dappled peak many miles into the distance. With a couple of stops along the way, at length we arrived in the township of Fox Glacier.
"Basic" is the most diplomatic way to describe our accomodation in this little settlement, but as it was only a crashpad for one
Warning Sign
May you live in interesting times night, it met our needs. We dumped the stuff, and although I was feeling slightly fatigued after the drive, we had some time left in the evening to head up to the Glacier. I am so glad that we did!
On face value, walking up to an enormous chunk of ice moving at an imperceptible pace does not sound like the most arresting of diversions. But as we walked up the valley, we were struck by the sheer unworldliness of the area. The river was an opaque grey, essesntially a torrential suspension of material eroded into powder by the immense force of the glacier. An array of graphic signs depicting the woeful fate that could befall the unwary hiker would perturb even the most seasoned of mountain men!
There were also signs which indicated the extent which the galcier has reached in the past decades and centuries. It would appear that the last few hundred metres of the valley before you reach the terminal face of the glacier have only been exposed in the last 50 or 60 years. To my simple mind, I was walking through a landscape which, in geological terms, had only just come into
A River Runs Through It
The grey Fox River emerging from the terminal face of the glacier. being. Being of a slightly arty-farty disposition I attempted to ponder this in some high-brow intellectual context, and failed miserably so I contented myself with a shiny stone I found instead.
A roped barrier prevented unguided ramblers from approaching the terminal face of the glacier too closely, and being British I obeyed it as if it was being watched by snipers. I was still able to fire off several shots of the area, which I anticipate to be some of my favourites of the whole trip. What an experience!
Nelson
After 8 hours in the car the following day, we arrived in Nelson. The drive north of Fox turned out to be a little disappointing to be honest. The sight of the alps rising from a plain almost at sea level was always going to be hard to beat, but the drab industrial townships we passed through were tough to take. The only entertainment for the driver was a series of utterly ridiculous single-lane bridges which, just to make things interesting, you have to share with trains as well! In one situtation I had to drive on to the train tracks to see if it was clear
Glacier Close-up
More turquoise - must be that rock dust again for me to cross the bridge, only to wait there awhile for a cyclist to complete his (leisurely) crossing. Time does not ever pass so slowly as it does when you are parked on a railway line.
Anyway, managing to surpress my inner drama queen for the rest of the journey, our arrival at Nelson was joyous! It is a lovely town and I it was a splendid place to pass a weekend as we did. I was extremely content as Cath and I enjoyed a Friday evening pint in a convivial establishment on the Trafalgar Street. A live band kept us entertained throughout.
We also used this opportunity to visit the Abel Tasman national park a little distance north of Nelson. An enjoyable morning on the beach was had, and we even braced the chilly Pacific waters for a little dip. I even managed to put aside my somewhat obsessive fear that I would instantly be attacked by a fleet of box-jellyfish the minute I stepped in an ocean in the southern hemisphere!
This more or less ends our time on the south island, as the next stop from Nelson was Picton and the ferry across
Glacier Close-up
You could stare at this thing for hours! the Cook Strait to Wellington.
Have to go now - hopefully more photos next time!
Take care all,
Alex and Cath
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