After an early breakfast at 6.30am on Monday 7th January (one of the girls nearly mutinied last night when she told we would be leaving at 7.30am on the basis that she had a bad back and needed time to do her exercises!), we drove to Franz Josef via a few waterfalls and the Haast Bridge where an impressive river was surging past due to the amount of rain which had fallen on the West Coast (it rains a lot on the West Coast). The rains came lashing down the hole journey, such that the heli hike onto the Franz Josef Glacier which we had booked on in the afternoon had been cancelled. The guides had, instead, planned a walk up the rain forest to the terminal face and lower reaches of the glacier. Even though I like walking, I hate to do so when it looks like I might finish it looking like a drowned rat, I went for the alternative option - climbing the indoor ice wall at the Hukawai Glacier Centre in Franz Josef.
The Hukawai Centre also has a good exhibit showing the history of the glacier, the weather and environment of the glacier and the flora, fauna and geology. The average annual rainfall around the Franz Josef glacier is 5100mm compared to 4200mm in Tokyo and 1100mm in London (Manchester must fall somewhere between those two figures). Three of us decided sensibly to spend the afternoon climbing the 10m wall, which has 15 different climbing routes from the easy for beginners to a monster overhang for experts and the more adventurous. I had never done ice climbing before and after the first climb, due to the cold and straining to hold the ice axes, my hands started to cramp badly. The second and third climbs were much easier, particularly as you start to gain in confidence. Where, however, the top of the wall gets vertical and icy, I did start to shake a bit, as you rely on your buddy to belay you properly and because I was climbing too quickly for my buddy to catch up, the rope was slack most of the time. Thankfully I didn't fall! Anyway, we chose the right option, as those who went on the walk were drenched and turned back before they even went near the glacier due to the rivers being flooded. (See photo of me ice climbing).
Our evening accommodation was in Okarito, by the Okarito Lagoon and with a population of 30. By the time we arrived, the population had increased by a third! The next day (Tuesday), we kayaked on the lagoon, which is a bird spotter's paradise. It is unique in that it holds the only white heron colony in New Zealand. There are various inlets you can explore and initially, Nick (who was in my tandem kayak) and I heard a lot of birds but couldn't see them for the life of us. Eventually we spotted a couple of white herons (which can only be found in that area - see photo) and some other birds (although we didn't have a clue what they were). We had managed to change our heli hike booking to the following day, but even though it wasn't raining, it was too cloudy on the Franz Josef glacier to be able to fly up there. Another heli hike cancelled. We managed to get on the half day glacier hike walk, which takes you up to the first ice fall but as there were 65 people, we started late and there was a lot of waiting around to get people up and down. It's a real shame that tour companies pack in the numbers for the sake of their profits - it could have been a much better experience. Once on the glacier, however (where we were for an hour and a half), there are spectacular views of crevasses, tunnels and blue ice, as well as views down the valley. Whilst quite safe with ropes and steps cut into the glacier, some people found it quite strenuous.
Together with the Fox Glacier 20km to the south (which we did not have time to visit), it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 200m above sea level amidst the lushness and greenery of a temperate rain forest. The area surrounding the two glaciers is designated a World Heritage site. The Franz Josef glacier (see photo) retreated quite significantly before the 1980s but since then, it has been advancing at a rapid rate, such that the glacial landscape can change almost daily. Franz Josef Glacier is also named by the Maori as Ka Koimata o Hinehukatere (tears of the Avalanche Girl). According to legend, Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains. She persuaded her lover, Tawe, to go with her. Near the top Tawe slipped and fell to his death. The heartbroken girl's tears froze to form the glacier and they continue to fall, resulting in the advancing glacier.
The Hukawai Centre also has a good exhibit showing the history of the glacier, the weather and environment of the glacier and the flora, fauna and geology. The average annual rainfall around the Franz Josef glacier is 5100mm compared to 4200mm in Tokyo and 1100mm in London (Manchester must fall somewhere between those two figures). Three of us decided sensibly to spend the afternoon climbing the 10m wall, which has 15 different climbing routes from the easy for beginners to a monster overhang for experts and the more adventurous. I had never done ice climbing before and after the first climb, due to the cold and straining to hold the ice axes, my hands started to cramp badly. The second and third climbs were much easier, particularly as you start to gain in confidence. Where, however, the top of the wall gets vertical and icy, I did start to shake a bit, as you rely on your buddy to belay you properly and because I was climbing too quickly for my buddy to catch up, the rope was slack most of the time. Thankfully I didn't fall! Anyway, we chose the right option, as those who went on the walk were drenched and turned back before they even went near the glacier due to the rivers being flooded. (See photo of me ice climbing).
Our evening accommodation was in Okarito, by the Okarito Lagoon and with a population of 30. By the time we arrived, the population had increased by a third! The next day (Tuesday), we kayaked on the lagoon, which is a bird spotter's paradise. It is unique in that it holds the only white heron colony in New Zealand. There are various inlets you can explore and initially, Nick (who was in my tandem kayak) and I heard a lot of birds but couldn't see them for the life of us. Eventually we spotted a couple of white herons (which can only be found in that area - see photo) and some other birds (although we didn't have a clue what they were). We had managed to change our heli hike booking to the following day, but even though it wasn't raining, it was too cloudy on the Franz Josef glacier to be able to fly up there. Another heli hike cancelled. We managed to get on the half day glacier hike walk, which takes you up to the first ice fall but as there were 65 people, we started late and there was a lot of waiting around to get people up and down. It's a real shame that tour companies pack in the numbers for the sake of their profits - it could have been a much better experience. Once on the glacier, however (where we were for an hour and a half), there are spectacular views of crevasses, tunnels and blue ice, as well as views down the valley. Whilst quite safe with ropes and steps cut into the glacier, some people found it quite strenuous.
Together with the Fox Glacier 20km to the south (which we did not have time to visit), it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 200m above sea level amidst the lushness and greenery of a temperate rain forest. The area surrounding the two glaciers is designated a World Heritage site. The Franz Josef glacier (see photo) retreated quite significantly before the 1980s but since then, it has been advancing at a rapid rate, such that the glacial landscape can change almost daily. Franz Josef Glacier is also named by the Maori as Ka Koimata o Hinehukatere (tears of the Avalanche Girl). According to legend, Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains. She persuaded her lover, Tawe, to go with her. Near the top Tawe slipped and fell to his death. The heartbroken girl's tears froze to form the glacier and they continue to fall, resulting in the advancing glacier.
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