West Coast

05/02/12-08/02/12

On my first full day I had booked to do my glacier walk on the ice so after a quick breakfast in the morning I popped down to the guide office to check-in. On arriving I was given my gear for the days walk including waterproof trousers, rain jacket, hat, gloves, boots and crampons. All geared up I jumped in the bus as we were driven to the car park near to the base of the glacier, from there it was only a short walk to the glacier front. The group was first split up to form two separate groups, one for those who were fit and confident on their feet the other for those who wanted to take things more slowly. Of course I joined the first group which was then split again into two so the guides had a small number of people to look after. Having made conservation with Ben the guide who would be leading the first group I naturally joined him so I was the first person on the ice. Once the groups were sorted we had to attach our crampons to our boots, these are basically a series of small spikes on a metal frame that dig into the ice to give you grip. They take a while to get use to because at first your brain continually tells you that you’re slipping but of course if you do slip the crampons only become more secure to the ice as the spikes are driven further in. You can mostly walk normally with them on you except you can’t bend your foot and you have to keep your feet straight so they plant correctly on the ice, sideways is a big no go! On the walk you make your way up to a certain level of the glacier by way of steps cut into the ice, through crevasses and at one point through an ice tunnel. The going is quite easy and the climb proceeds at a steady pace as you stop and start as a path is made through the ice. The most surprising thing for me was how hot it was as a steady warm breeze rolled down the glacier like a hair dryer. Lunch was eaten on the glacier and after we did my most favourite part as our guide took as free walking, cutting a path as we went along. As we made our way back down we were constantly hearing bits of falling ice around us, each sounding like a freight train. In total we spent over 6 hours on the ice, I was glad to get the crampons off at the end as my feet were very tried. In the evening I popped down to the hot pools to sit back and relax while my body cooked in temperatures up to 40 degrees.

I had another full day in Franz Josef so I decided to explore some of the local walks. The first one was quite interesting, after following a short path up the local mountain I emerged at the entrance to the Tatare tunnels. These tunnels where carved out by miners at the start of the last century and head deep into the rock face, they are free to explore. Before I could venture in I had to wait for a party of 17 Americans to come out first! Left by myself and with just two torches for light I slowly made my way into the dark, having to stop every so often as the tunnel floor was covered with freezing water. One of the main reason people make the effort to explore these tunnels is to see glow worms, after walking about 100 metres I turned off my torches and was instantly surrounded by the eerie green light from the glow worms trying to attract their lunch. The hungrier they are the more they glow, it was a special sight. I did several more walks after but in the end I had to head back to the hostel to seek shelter as rain washed the rest of the afternoon away.

The next day I was on the move again as I hop on a bus to Greymouth, the main town along the west coast. I arrived to excellent weather and after arriving at my hostel I instantly jumped on one of the free bikes and rode down to the sea front. From the end of the pier I was able to get a view of the whole Southern Alps including my first view of Mount Cook. After I headed down to the beach to try my luck at gem hunting, trying to find the famous green jade that is so iconic of Maori weapons and jewellery, though my search was unsuccessful. In the evening I headed down to the pier once again to watch the sunset and was greeted by the sight of a pod of dolphins playing with local surfers.

Another day another bus as this time I was heading to Nelson near to the top of the south island. It was a long journey but we had an interesting stop-off at the pancake rocks, a series of rocks sticking out of the sea which look like a stack of fat pancakes piled by top of each other. I arrived in Nelson in the evening so just relaxed that night.