Glaciers & Adventures Tour

Our first multi-week trip of the South Island commenced October 1st as we headed southwest from Nelson towards the west coast. The first stop was in Charleston, a small town (as long as there is a tavern they classify it as a town!) in which we enjoyed some real milkshakes. Amy made sandwiches in the car (and managed to get peanut butter on the ceiling?!) while Klaus drove (and managed to get peanut butter on his cheeks?!). We stopped in Punakaiki and were just in time for the "show" as high tide forced waves deep into caverns and tunnels, climaxing as a surge of water exploded from blowholes like a geyser and sprayed the enthusiastic tourists. Photographers learned quickly not to stand down wind as the blowholes erupted with every other giant wave and covered the area in a fine mist giving way to temporary rainbows in the brilliant sun. The rocks surrounding these blowholes were actually a geological mystery. The so-called "Pancake Rocks" were columns of limestone which appeared like thousands of flat rocks stacked one on top of the other (hence the name Pancake Rocks) in a careful arrangement. We enjoyed a short walk in the area and then continued south to Franz Josef Glacier.

We woke the next morning to rain but were not discouraged and joined several others to begin our adventure. We put on warm clothes and the most excellent Franz Josef Glacier Guides provided us with ice axes, boots, "Ice Talonz"Efor the boots to grip the ice, a warm hat, and mittens. We were split into groups, ours consisted of 9 people in addition our Kiwi glacier guide, Chris. We strapped on the Ice Talonz and had only walked on the ice for 10 minutes when Klaus stepped into a hole and crashed through the ice, thigh deep in freezing water and feeling pretty silly. We all had a good laugh about it as our guide thought the hole had been pretty obvious, and therefore didn't bother pointing it out. Klaus obviously was paying more attention to the scenery rather than his next steps. Our first test had us squeezing into a tight crevasse, then climbing straight up pushing on the side of the walls with any and all body parts that would help to lift. Our guide was really adventurous and took us through some caves and crevasses that other groups were not daring. We continued to squeeze ourselves through tighter and narrower crevasses where normal walking was impossible and we had to shuffle our feet keeping one foot in front of the other through the entire passage. In some crevasses the ground had crumbled and turned to deep cold slush so we literally had to walk on the walls, keeping our bodies of the ground by digging our feet into the ice above it and using our arms for leverage. It was so much fun, like an adult playground or obstacle course complete with deep blue walls made of pure ice and little streams and waterfalls sprinkled around for presentation. After lunch on the glacier we headed back down, this time utilizing temporary bridges that guides were making out of ladders and plywood. The "bridges" spanned across deep crevasses and canyons that allowed us to make a quicker descent rather than climbing through all of the crevasses down to the terminal. After many hours of climbing glaciers we were all tired but happy, and the company finished the trip with hot chocolate... excellent! And the hostel had a hot spa just calling our names and we certainly took advantage of it that evening, well deserved in our opinion.

We continued south, stopping at Lake Matheson the most photographed lake in New Zealand, but the weather was less than cooperative so we pushed on and made it to Haast, another small town (yes it had a tavern that served an excellent lasagna and quiche). We headed out to the beach to spot some blue penguins but alas they were not to be seen. It may have had something to do with all our silliness and the ruckus we caused. We found ourselves running up and down the beach like 6 year old kids trying not to get caught by the waves that were obviously chasing just us. We had to jump up on high rocks to avoid the incoming waves and I'm sure there were a dozen curious Fiordland Crested penguins just off the shore looking at us and choosing not to return to the beach just yet.

We drove across the mountain range through Haast Pass and the views again were astonishing as the skies cleared and snow capped mountains surrounded us. A few hours and 50 pictures later we found ourselves in Wanaka, situated on the lake with snow capped Mt. Aspiring reflecting on the surface of the water. Our first full day in Wanaka started with some kayaking on Lake Wanaka with the early sun on the mountains as a backdrop. We returned to the hostel and were picked up by our river guide from "Frogz Have More Fun" sledging company. As we approached the starting point of today's adventure it began to snow on us, incredible and INSANE because we were about to get into the freezing river of snow melt and it was SNOWING on us!?! We slipped into our wetsuits and helmet and grabbed our sledge which was a glorified boogie board with inboard handles. After a safety briefing and quick instructions we slid into the 11 C freezing waters of the Class 2-4 river, the wetsuits thankfully kept us pretty comfortable. After a little practice using the sledge we kicked hard to get ourselves out of the eddy and into the rushing river and it was moving fast! We were rocking and splashing around, moving quickly downstream and had to pay close attention to our guide as he told us which side of the rapids to move towards. Sometimes we would get caught in whirlpools that sucked us in, spun us around and spit us out like yesterday's laundry. Other times the waves would come crashing over us from the sides at which point we could intentionally barrel roll 360 degrees around ourselves to recover, or place ourselves at the mercy of the river and end up wherever it felt like thrusting us this time. It was an adrenaline rush and great fun, especially through the rougher rapids that really tested our reactions and endurance as we fought to stay upright, facing downstream, avoiding rocks jutting out from the cliffs. After one run down the river, we got in the van and drove even further up the river so we could capture more rapids, then we jumped in the waters and did it all over again. After more rushing, rolling, whirling, spinning and thrashing on the river we finally had to call it a day and headed back to Wanaka; what a great way to spend an afternoon.

The next morning we headed up the mountain to the ski resort, Treble Cone. We had decided to go snowboarding and signed up for beginner lessons with a group of 6 others. The Kiwi instructor Quentin was amusing and taught us skills step by step that we eventually put together to look like we knew what we were doing. We had plenty of wipe-outs interrupted only with moments of genius and others of insanity as we rushed downhill sideways and backwards out of control to the amusement of others. By the afternoon, however, we had actually learned to stop ourselves, facing both downhill and uphill and we were boarding in smooth and graceful S-shapes down the slope... well okay maybe not so smooth... yeah okay so we were probably anything but graceful, but we were standing on the snowboard with some illusion of control and made it to where we intended to go... even if that target continued to change every second our board decided to go somewhere else! It was a great day of beginner snowboarding and by the end we were sore and ready to head back to Wanaka.

We took one day to relax and recover in Wanaka, then drove up to Mt. Cook the following day. Twice on our drive we had to stop for a heard of hundreds of sheep crossing the road to where "the grass was greener." The lake at the base of Mt. Cook glowed in a brilliant luminescent turquoise and the mountain ranges were again covered in fresh white snow. We hiked towards the glaciers and had to cross two swing bridges on the way. On the return trip, the wind really picked up and "put the Grrr in Swinger, yeah baby" as the bridges rocked from side to side, forcing us to place our feet more deliberately to cross. Mt. Cook rose majestically and abruptly as if to make a statement, and we could only hope to capture some of its grandeur with the camera.

Back to the west coast through Haast Pass and this time the skies really opened up, and there were literally hundreds of waterfalls next to the roads. We stopped in the town of Fox Glacier and enjoyed a relaxing day while waiting for the rain to move on. We got up early in the morning, before sunrise, and went out to Lake Matheson in a second attempt to capture the ever sought after mirror lake picture. We got it! The lake was smooth, the sunrise came up from behind Mt. Cook and the view was fantastic. The morning mist began to rise and lift, so initially the view of the mountain range was actually clearest in the reflection on the lake. After capturing those magic moments at Lake Matheson, we drove to a car park and walked through another rainforest to the terminal face of Fox Glacier. The sun was shining on the ice and it reflected back in a brilliant blue. We went on a hike up the mountain to get a better view of the glacier and we had to ford streams several times, one almost getting the best of us as we wobbled across slippery rocks. But we made it out to the view point and it was well worth it, as the magnificent Fox Glacier carved its way in front of us through the mountain pass. Pictures were taken, streams were forded again, lunch was eaten, and then we drove north as the clouds crept in from the Tasman Sea.

We returned to Punakaiki and went out to the beach in search of the evasive and elusive penguins. They remained evasive and elusive! But instead we found a microcosm of sea life in the tide pools of a rock outcrop and we discovered star fish, anenomies, crabs and other neat critters. The next morning we did some hiking near a river and then decided to put our kayaks back in use. We hiked upstream for about an hour and then jumped in our kayaks (some more gracefully than others, right Amy...?) and let the stream carry us toward the sea. The rapids were about Class 2 and it was fun to maneuver around the rocks in the river. At one point Klaus (again not paying attention) was distracted taking pictures and rammed up against a log in the middle of the river, almost tipping over!? After a few quick attempts he released himself from the log and caught up with Amy who asked "What took you so long?" After playing on the river we headed for home, stopping in Charleston for the mandatory milkshake of course. After two weeks on the road it was nice to be home, relax and start to sort through the few hundred pictures we had taken. Our "Glaciers & Adventures" tour was a success!

Rugged West Coast scenery	Pancake Rocks	Punakaiki Blowholes	Franz Josef Glacier
Amy sporting her ice axe	Our first test, squeeze then climb	Ice formations of Franz Josef	"Time to suck it in"
Monro Beach; penguins hiding	Klaus barely escaped the waves	Haast River	Southern Alps
Wanaka	Kayaking in Lake Wanaka	Smiling, before freezing waters	Sledging and loving it
Views from Treble Cone ski resort	Treble Cone slopes	Amy, cruising on the board	Klaus, snowboard champion
Kea, mountain parrot	Quintessential mountain view	Wanaka downtown	View from Wanaka Backpaka
Awe-stricken by Mt. Cook	"Not swimming in Hooker Lake!"	Mt. Cook; up close and personal	Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki
Lamb jam	Lake Matheson	Rainforest on west coast	Yet another waterfall
Tide pools in Punakaiki	"I see you!"	Beach in Punakaiki	Pororari gorge
Kayaking the Pororari River