Tour Journal Week 2
Week 2 Glac-i-ers, Waterfalls, Homestay
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Bus Ride from town to bottom of Fox Glacier . |
The LURE OF THE CHALLENGE is born! Monday morning the rain was still falling down. Cindy and others did not ride, as Cindy said, I don't ride when it rains at home, yet Bill and Debby were eager to give this up-hill journey to Franz Josef a try. Melanie and Toby had bets on me. Toby won. Melanie thought I would be a bit more "reasonable." I rode. It was a great ride. The rainfall brought the best in everything out - numerous little streams along the side of the road and just the look of the rain forest was different. For a 15-18 mile ride it was well worth it. Jan said she did the ride in one hour 45 minutes. Not sure how long I was out, again I ended up at the wrong hotel, but when no one else showed up I went back to the main street and found the correct place. |
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This was a great day. In the afternoon we went for a hike on the glacier. This was the most exhilarating and physically difficult day. To hike the glacier, we needed to climb a mountain to end up on top of the glacier. It had stopped raining, but the air was still foggy. Large streams ran through the mountain, and the guides set up some two by fours to help us cross. What was amazing was the decrease in size of these streams 30-60 minutes later when we returned. As the bridges were not required any more. The hike was not one which could be found in the states. New Zealand is the land of adventure, and this was the first time we tasted it. No disclaimers, for what would be a lawyers heyday in the states. We used crampons on the ice, and really did not spend more then 10 minutes on the glacier itself. Although this was a real cool experience. That evening we observed the Glow Worms in the nearby park, and visited the local bar to check out SKY TV and football games. It was unreal. They schedule 60 minutes for a football game, so they clip out the timeouts, and zoom through other parts. You can even see the FAST FORWARD! There was really just two minutes left at the two minute warning. Cozy little bar too and we talked to the Sullivan brothers who raise sheep nearby. We were hoping for clearing as the next morning was our last opportunity for a helicopter ride over the glaciers. What Deanne remembers is me hitting my head on the tv stand at the hotel, as my luggage was right beneath it. |
The Glacier Walk - Guide is in RED. |
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We celebrated in the lounge with a CocaCola toast |
What luck, it was not a sunny morning, but the cloud cover was high enough that helicopter rides were possible. Another fantastic experience. Was about a 30 minute ride and we landed on top of the glacier where we could play, take pictures or whatever for 10 minutes. Sue was like a little kid running all over the glacier. Bill snapped some great photos, including this individual shot here. Like the glacial hike, we received certificates from the pilot after completing this trip. Another souvenir for my scrapbook. The weather improved too See me on the Glacier. This was our longest day - 72 miles to Haast, Our little group was back together again. Melanie, Toby, Cathy, Cindy and |
.Rouel. Rouel sometimes went ahead with his recumbent, at times his speed was a bit faster, but not on the hills. Once it cleared we could see the snow tipped mountains, they were neat, and it was difficult to believe we had experienced so much in the last few days. The glaciers are two of the three advancing glaciers in the world. The third is in Chile. They advance around a meter a day! More single lane bridges. Toby was really looking forward to the one by Haast. The basin was dry. The bridge was impressive (another one of Jan's favorite words). BTW best is pronounced more like BEAST! The bridge had three areas to pull over and "GIVEWAY". Rouel was so happy he raised his bike in the air for photos. I think this was Cathy's longest distance ever.. Great photo with the little Christmas stockings in the background. Notice it is already the end of the first week and the Kiwi still have their Christmas decorations up! Not in the states.
That afternoon Julia and a few others went jet boating and had a great time. Which meant the rest of us were soon to follow. This was a witchy night!
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BLUE POOLS |
As much as we had traveled in New Zealand, I noticed mail pickup was always at 11AM, which I could not figure out and each town had a Department of Conservation. Often, Fox Glacier and Haast,the department had little museums. The one in Haast was not so little and was uniquely designed. The photos I took show it almost abstractly. Jan said if it was raining there would be little fountains. I think many of us could have spent over an hour in the building. The Departments of Conservation were the place to stop to pick up information about all the trails along the side of the road. Although the signs usually told you how many minutes to allow for a hike, these pamphlets help provide more information and were quite |
useful. It should be noted that while each town had a Department of Conservation, we were hard pressed to find police. We did not need them, again which tells you something of this territory. We were now entering new territory and many waterfalls surrounding us on either side of the road. The lunch stop was new and provided some shelter. Here the choice was to ride up Haast Pass or sag over it. The LURE took hold again, so Up, and Up went the pass. Actually, the pass was not bad, the difficult part was more the heat then the grade of the pass. Again, the right choice. It was not too long, in fact, I wasn't clear when I was at the top of the pass, because it just leveled out, and then after awhile I saw a sign. The next big attraction was Blue Pools. A suspension bridge and a great swimming hole. I filled my water bottles here. The clear water was cool, and the first bottle almost gone before I knew it, it tasted real good. Soon we were in Makarora. Even panoramic cameras can not give this area justice. The landscape was so massive. We were like in a valley, with little A - Frame cottages. A different sort of place. The tea room was our restaurant, and this town too had a fancy Department of Conservation. Since Makarora was on a glacial stream. not only were jet boats available but plane trips too. Our jet boat captain was Hubcap, and he made the ride lots of fun. We picked up some hikers who were left off several hours earlier. Now that would be a Kiwi Adventure! With this detour the ride was a bit longer than expected, so we were late for dinner, but as always the food was terrific and plentiful. Each night we had a Pavlova. And they were all different. Pavlova is the official dessert of New Zealand. That night I finally saw the Southern Cross !
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Department of Conservation in Makarora |
The roads are now complete in New Zealand. But when VBT started this the road or sealed road ended in Makarora. So instead of riding all the way from Makarora today we get a lift part way. A shame it would be a great view, but then again, the wind today is a lot heavier than any day so far. The beautiful lakes along the road, as we are shuttled to Lake Hawea. We must be lucky, because despite the heavy winds, they are for the most part at our back easy pedalling at 25 mph for awhile! Stops at the New Zealand Air Museum, Puzzle World, could have been a longer stop for me. Wished |
I had rode back there after lunch instead of shopping! Lunch along Lake Wanaka. It is so windy we are eating in the vans, and staying warm there too! Then there is time to shop before heading to our farm families in Tarras. This term really made Tim laugh. Wanaka was a big town considering what we had been through. Yet I do not remember any stop signs or stop lights there. In New Zealand, one just gives way or drives around a turn about. We had not seen a stop sign or stop light since leaving Christchurch.
Arriving in Tarras, our families, or MOMs were anxiously awaiting our arrival. Our farm family had an American MOM, but she had changed. Lee was from Washington state and now said geragg versus garage, it was funny. They met when he was in Canada, training to be a teacher. She has been in New Zealand for around 20 years. They have 3 children, the eldest two girls, and Tommy. We were provided with a complete tour of their farm including a little cabin.
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The story behind this cabin is that a women was left here with her toddler while her husband was away for an extended period of time. During that time she gave birth to twins. It was extremely cold and they did not survive so she put them in a butter box. By the time her husband returned everyone had died. The butter box was buried under a nearby tree. While the story may or may not be true. This cabin is over a century old, and seeing how far the Davises lived from their neighbor this cabin looks as lonesome as some of the establishments in the book Cold Mountain, yet these people survived in a less then torrid climate. |
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