Day 21 – Franz Josef (getting up close and personal with a glacier)
The drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef was long (over 5 hours) but there were many beautiful scenic stops along the way. While driving past Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, we saw some gorgeous backdrop views. We drove through Mount Aspiring National Park (making our way through New Zealand’s Southern Alps) which was also very beautiful. The road then took us along the coast where we stopped to admire the ocean only to be swarmed by ankle biting sandflies (I’m itching my ankles as I write this blog post). Although today’s drive was extremely long, it was well worth the trip for the unique opportunity to hike up to and get close and personal with the Franz Josef glacier. Being so close to a glacier felt INCREDIBLE! In the late evening, we took a walk in the rainforest to observe New Zealand’s glowworms (magical, they look like stars on the ground).
January 26, 2011 at 5:47 am
Jolanta-super pics- takes me back to my travels thru this part of NZ in 1978. You guys are doing it in much more style-I had a NZ Rail pass, which in the South Island meant you got to ride in a bus, as the only rail track ran from Picton down the east side to Dunedin.
Keep blogging:)
January 27, 2011 at 12:47 am
Hi Len… it definitely helps to have a car in New Zealand… unfortunately this is the only country where we will have a rental… moving forward it will be trains and buses for us as well. On a different note… not much has changed since 1978 in terms of the internet situation here. Getting online is very difficult (free internet access is treated as a luxury versus a daily necessity).
January 26, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Years ago, Don, Mother, and I took a trip to the Canadian Rockies, where we went out on a glacier. It was fabulous, so I’m reliving that wonderful experience via your picutres in NZ. Awesome! If that was water coming off the glacier, were you able to drink some of it? What we had in Canada was crystal clear, bone-chilling cold, but so pure! Keep up your wonderful blogs!
January 27, 2011 at 12:56 am
Very cool… yes that was water coming off the glacier but we were unable to get close enough to sample some
February 3, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I love this scenery! It must of been difficult for you two to leave New Zealand!
February 4, 2011 at 6:29 pm
It was… but we were very excited about seeing Australia so that made it easier