Ferries, Trains and Cheesy Tour Buses On Ice!
From Wellington, I had the pleasure of taking the early morning Ferry back across the Tasman Sea to Picton. the boat quickly exits Wellington Harbor and a couple hours later enters the Queen Charlotte Sounds on the South Island for the long winding trip in Picton . The scenery was stunning as the boat wound through the hills with the bright green of the trees and golden glow of the grasslands in contrast with the dark blue water of the sounds.
Hills around Wellington From the Ferry
Island in Queen Charlotte Sounds
We docked in Picton about midday which gave me just time enough to grab a bite to eat before boarding the TRANZCoastal, the scenic train which would take me back to Christchurch. The train ride was wonderful with great views of the coastline from the tall windows which made up its sides. We wound along the coast passing through old tunnels, over historic bridges and past the sweeping salt flats which provide New Zealand with much of its salt. One car was just an open platform with guard rails to let you take in the cold air rushing by and to allow good pictures of the scenery unobstructed by the glass of the cars. Unfortunately it was cold so that car was empty but contained multiple warnings about staying within the rails so no picture-happy tourists lost an arm in one of the close cropped tunnels.
Down the Tracks of the TRANZCoastal
After another nice but uneventful night in Christchurch, I woke early to catch my next ride - the TRANZAlpine which traverses the Southern Alps by the way of Arthurs Pass and onto the rugged west coast of the South Island. The ride, like its coastal sibling, had breathtaking scenery, but seemed to be lacking a little something... and that something was snow. I don't care if its still technically summer, these are the ALPS for heaven's sake. Where is the damn snow?! Alas, it appears that New Zealand will not help break my sad winter without snow. Oh well.
The Great Pass
So the great alpine passage behind, I now arrived in Greymouth , the biggest town on the west coast, where even my guidebook admits there's nothing to do but drink Monteiths. Regardless, I would not be dissuaded and, after suitably stuffing myself with delicious pizza, found a nice walk through a local estuary, along a winding flood wall and up the grey stone beach which just about matched the color of the eternal cloud covered sky of the west coast. After that, some English gents and myself mistakenly missed the Monteiths brewery tour shuttle, but not to worry, we managed to get the driver to take us back to the partner pub and got a free tasting of all their beers, therefor saving ourselves the pain of sitting through all that drivel about how the beer is made (does anyone really care?) and $15.
Greymouth Beach
The following day, I woke early to catch my new bus, the "Magic Bus". Sounds fancy huh? The Magic Bus is a hop-on hop-off coach service/tour bus that does circuits around New Zealand. This isn't normally my style, but nearing the end of my trip I thought it would be a good way to quickly tour the island and meet some new peeps instead of stubbornly always going the exact opposite direction as everyone else (a specialty of mine). So far the bus meets my needs, but not without cost (both monetarily and patience wise). First problem is that many of the other occupants seem to lack any sense of adventure and seem to just stop at the main stops, just flying through the ones in between. This attitude is encouraged by the drivers who try and get you to book preplanned activities at the main stops instead of going out on your own. Lame. The second (and more annoying) problem is the drivers themselves. The idea is solid, with the drivers making occasional stops at interesting places the regular coaches usually just fly by, and offering commentary as you pass interesting towns and sites, but the system falls apart because the drivers seem to have trouble shutting up. My first driver went on and on about all the partying we would be doing with him in Queenstown. When I was just about to go mental on him, he announced, "Of course, we won't be getting to Queenstown until tomorrow so I'll make sure to repeat this all tomorrow." Arrrgghhhhhh !!! Let me off!!! Then, to add insult to injury, he told a story about a couple which met on his bus and then got married years later. This was one of those stories where you sit in eager anticipation of the words "...and to make a long story short", but they just never come. You may know this kind of story, because occasionally even I tell them... but then I found a $5 bill under my seat which I decided I would spend on beer to slightly alleviate the pain.
That day, the bus took us from Greymouth to Franz Joseph, stopping at a jade factory which no one went in to and a gold panning demonstration which no one forked out $6.50 to participate in. Such is life.
Once in Franz Joseph, I dropped my pack, ran to the DOC (Department of Conservation) info center, bought some food and ran back to the hostel just in time to catch the shuttle to the park. I decided to do the Alex Knob trail on a recommendation , the only problem being that it was listed as an 8 hour return and it was one 1 pm and I had to catch the 7 pm (and last) shuttle back to town. I decided to go for it anyway and climbed the mountain at a blistering (literally) pace through tropical jungle, past wonderful overlooks and up into the sub-alpine shrubs. I took only one short break, ate my lunch as I hiked, and my legs burned sharply the last 25 minutes of frustrating false summits, but finally my hand hit the summit marker exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes after setting out. I collapsed in the grass from exhaustion and promptly patted myself on the back for my achievement. The top of Alex Knob was stunning and worth every calf burning step. It afforded magnificent views of the west coast, the surrounding mountains and the star attraction, and the town's namesake, the Franz Joseph glacier. My first glacial experience and it was simply stunning wedged between two mountains and extending from the gray clouds almost all the way down the mountains to the riverbed below. I was surprised to look down from my perch and see bug sized helicopters below viewing the glacier. I took some pictures and headed down the mountain as the daily rain started to fall and gladly made it back for the 6 pm shuttle, then promptly limped back to the hostel and went to bed.
Hobbit Trail up Alex Knob
The Mighty Franz Joseph
By 9 am the next morning I was 30 Ks south and trying on heavy boots and crampons for my trip atop Franz Joseph's twin - the Fox Glacier. We hiked about an hour and up past the terminal face, along steeply carved cliffs and past fresh rock falls, then descended the valley and hiked onto the glacier over steps freshly carved that morning. Our group of ten loyally followed our guide past crevasses , glacial streams and up thick ice faces on the steps she chipped out for us with her sizable pick ax. It was really fascinating to hear about the formation and evolution of these huge masses of ice and to see the results of their forces in real time. The glacial blue of the dense ice was truly amazing mixed in with the white surface ice and grey rocks and glacial mud. We hiked up the glacier for several hours before turning back where the ice became too jagged as it spills out of a bottleneck high above. It was an unforgettable experience, but unfortunately I came back with few pictures as the afternoon found us drenched in rain and I've already lost one camera on this expedition.
Climbing Fox
Glacier Up Close
I've spent the last few days in Wanaka, a town high in the Alps on a huge glacial lake and surround by the high pinnacles of mountains. Wanaka is a great town with a famous movie theatre filled with couches (as well as a car) for viewers as well as a bar and famous homemade cookies and ice cream. Apart from taking in the scenery, I rented a mountain bike and toured an awesome set of local trails and, due to no outdoor trips going out (what gives?), hope to hit the local climbing wall tonight. I also did one hike up nearby Mt. Iron with great views of the town, the 2 lakes and the surrounding mountains.
Looking down on Lake Wanaka
Wanaka Berries
Tomorrow I'm back on the bus and onto Queenstown, "the adventure capitol of the world". We'll have to see what that's all about. I'll let you know when I find out.
Hills around Wellington From the Ferry
Island in Queen Charlotte Sounds
We docked in Picton about midday which gave me just time enough to grab a bite to eat before boarding the TRANZCoastal, the scenic train which would take me back to Christchurch. The train ride was wonderful with great views of the coastline from the tall windows which made up its sides. We wound along the coast passing through old tunnels, over historic bridges and past the sweeping salt flats which provide New Zealand with much of its salt. One car was just an open platform with guard rails to let you take in the cold air rushing by and to allow good pictures of the scenery unobstructed by the glass of the cars. Unfortunately it was cold so that car was empty but contained multiple warnings about staying within the rails so no picture-happy tourists lost an arm in one of the close cropped tunnels.
Down the Tracks of the TRANZCoastal
After another nice but uneventful night in Christchurch, I woke early to catch my next ride - the TRANZAlpine which traverses the Southern Alps by the way of Arthurs Pass and onto the rugged west coast of the South Island. The ride, like its coastal sibling, had breathtaking scenery, but seemed to be lacking a little something... and that something was snow. I don't care if its still technically summer, these are the ALPS for heaven's sake. Where is the damn snow?! Alas, it appears that New Zealand will not help break my sad winter without snow. Oh well.
The Great Pass
So the great alpine passage behind, I now arrived in Greymouth , the biggest town on the west coast, where even my guidebook admits there's nothing to do but drink Monteiths. Regardless, I would not be dissuaded and, after suitably stuffing myself with delicious pizza, found a nice walk through a local estuary, along a winding flood wall and up the grey stone beach which just about matched the color of the eternal cloud covered sky of the west coast. After that, some English gents and myself mistakenly missed the Monteiths brewery tour shuttle, but not to worry, we managed to get the driver to take us back to the partner pub and got a free tasting of all their beers, therefor saving ourselves the pain of sitting through all that drivel about how the beer is made (does anyone really care?) and $15.
Greymouth Beach
The following day, I woke early to catch my new bus, the "Magic Bus". Sounds fancy huh? The Magic Bus is a hop-on hop-off coach service/tour bus that does circuits around New Zealand. This isn't normally my style, but nearing the end of my trip I thought it would be a good way to quickly tour the island and meet some new peeps instead of stubbornly always going the exact opposite direction as everyone else (a specialty of mine). So far the bus meets my needs, but not without cost (both monetarily and patience wise). First problem is that many of the other occupants seem to lack any sense of adventure and seem to just stop at the main stops, just flying through the ones in between. This attitude is encouraged by the drivers who try and get you to book preplanned activities at the main stops instead of going out on your own. Lame. The second (and more annoying) problem is the drivers themselves. The idea is solid, with the drivers making occasional stops at interesting places the regular coaches usually just fly by, and offering commentary as you pass interesting towns and sites, but the system falls apart because the drivers seem to have trouble shutting up. My first driver went on and on about all the partying we would be doing with him in Queenstown. When I was just about to go mental on him, he announced, "Of course, we won't be getting to Queenstown until tomorrow so I'll make sure to repeat this all tomorrow." Arrrgghhhhhh !!! Let me off!!! Then, to add insult to injury, he told a story about a couple which met on his bus and then got married years later. This was one of those stories where you sit in eager anticipation of the words "...and to make a long story short", but they just never come. You may know this kind of story, because occasionally even I tell them... but then I found a $5 bill under my seat which I decided I would spend on beer to slightly alleviate the pain.
That day, the bus took us from Greymouth to Franz Joseph, stopping at a jade factory which no one went in to and a gold panning demonstration which no one forked out $6.50 to participate in. Such is life.
Once in Franz Joseph, I dropped my pack, ran to the DOC (Department of Conservation) info center, bought some food and ran back to the hostel just in time to catch the shuttle to the park. I decided to do the Alex Knob trail on a recommendation , the only problem being that it was listed as an 8 hour return and it was one 1 pm and I had to catch the 7 pm (and last) shuttle back to town. I decided to go for it anyway and climbed the mountain at a blistering (literally) pace through tropical jungle, past wonderful overlooks and up into the sub-alpine shrubs. I took only one short break, ate my lunch as I hiked, and my legs burned sharply the last 25 minutes of frustrating false summits, but finally my hand hit the summit marker exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes after setting out. I collapsed in the grass from exhaustion and promptly patted myself on the back for my achievement. The top of Alex Knob was stunning and worth every calf burning step. It afforded magnificent views of the west coast, the surrounding mountains and the star attraction, and the town's namesake, the Franz Joseph glacier. My first glacial experience and it was simply stunning wedged between two mountains and extending from the gray clouds almost all the way down the mountains to the riverbed below. I was surprised to look down from my perch and see bug sized helicopters below viewing the glacier. I took some pictures and headed down the mountain as the daily rain started to fall and gladly made it back for the 6 pm shuttle, then promptly limped back to the hostel and went to bed.
Hobbit Trail up Alex Knob
The Mighty Franz Joseph
By 9 am the next morning I was 30 Ks south and trying on heavy boots and crampons for my trip atop Franz Joseph's twin - the Fox Glacier. We hiked about an hour and up past the terminal face, along steeply carved cliffs and past fresh rock falls, then descended the valley and hiked onto the glacier over steps freshly carved that morning. Our group of ten loyally followed our guide past crevasses , glacial streams and up thick ice faces on the steps she chipped out for us with her sizable pick ax. It was really fascinating to hear about the formation and evolution of these huge masses of ice and to see the results of their forces in real time. The glacial blue of the dense ice was truly amazing mixed in with the white surface ice and grey rocks and glacial mud. We hiked up the glacier for several hours before turning back where the ice became too jagged as it spills out of a bottleneck high above. It was an unforgettable experience, but unfortunately I came back with few pictures as the afternoon found us drenched in rain and I've already lost one camera on this expedition.
Climbing Fox
Glacier Up Close
I've spent the last few days in Wanaka, a town high in the Alps on a huge glacial lake and surround by the high pinnacles of mountains. Wanaka is a great town with a famous movie theatre filled with couches (as well as a car) for viewers as well as a bar and famous homemade cookies and ice cream. Apart from taking in the scenery, I rented a mountain bike and toured an awesome set of local trails and, due to no outdoor trips going out (what gives?), hope to hit the local climbing wall tonight. I also did one hike up nearby Mt. Iron with great views of the town, the 2 lakes and the surrounding mountains.
Looking down on Lake Wanaka
Wanaka Berries
Tomorrow I'm back on the bus and onto Queenstown, "the adventure capitol of the world". We'll have to see what that's all about. I'll let you know when I find out.
posted by AJH @ 10:44 PM
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