FEELING GO - FEELING GO WITH THE SUN, ICE & SNOW
(REMEMBER: IF YOU'RE MENTIONED BY NAME ITS COS I LOVE YOU DEARLY. IF YOU'RE NOT, ITS ONLY TO PROTECT MYSELF IN THE LIBEL COURT)
You see this?
This is me sat at Christchurch Railway Station on New Zealand's South Island. Despite nearly losing the use of my ears due to them refusing to pop on the plane, combined with arriving at the airport to find that the bureau de change was closed, leading to an uncomfortable night's sleep in the arrivals lounge, I am, at this precise moment that the picture is taken, feeling calm, relaxed and excited about being in New Zealand. There's a clean crisp autumnal taste to the air, and I'm about to board the Trans Alpine Express to Greymouth, which promises to cut through some of the most spectacluar scenery in the whole country.
Feeling GO?
Plenty.
The train journey was awesome, I spent most of it stood on an outdoor viewing platform, marvelling at the snow, sharp peaks and blue water glacial streams. The destination of the train was the town of Greymouth, where I was to take The Magic Bus round the rest of NZ.
FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER
The Magic Bus took me and a group of top people down the west coast to Franz Josef, where one of the world's only temperate glaciers in located. Me and a few folk from the bus decided to take a guided walk out onto the ice, it was cold and wet but there were some unforgettable moments, as we traversed huge blue flakes of glacier ice, crawled through meltwater tunnels and leaped 200m deep chasms.
TOP:A stern faced Richard & Claire mentally prepare for their glacial ascent.
MIDDLE: The group trek on up the glacier and through an ice archway.
BOTTOM: Pete, Richard, Claire, Marianne and myself, at the uppermost point of our climb.
... and please excuse yet another self indulgent photograph...
MAKARORA
The next stop for the Magic Bus was an overnighter in a tiny place called Makarora. If anyone can remember that first night then you couldn't have been there. The next day, me and the few folk that remained went on the "Siberia Experience" - flying round Mt Siberia in a small plane, landing on the mountain, followed by a hike down to the bottom and a jetboat ride home - TO THE MAX!
Me, The Mountain Man.
TOP: Marianne coping extremely well with a nervous passenger, just after plane window had flown open.
BOTTOM: Mt Siberia from the plane window.