Went to Fox Glacier today. Stupid bus ride took us 10 hrs to get there from Nelson. I was feeling sad to be leaving behind sunny Nelson and the cute jap babes we just got to know while playing Scrabble..haha. Anyway, we met this friendly English chap named Chris on the bus, a solo traveller from Sussex, England. He's purely travelling, and he's been to tons of exotic places like Vietnam, Laos and the Phillipines, so I guess he must be pretty loaded.
Stopped at Punakaiki for awhile, the view at Pancake Rocks were really nice. Too bad I left my cam on the bus, and I was too lazy to head back to get it. The place was called Pancake rocks, because the rocks there are actually layers of limestone, compressed over millenia by silt, sand and sea to achieve the stacked 'pancakes' appearance. The sea has been eroding the rock strata for a long time, and really funny and beautiful formations were formed as a result. There were blowholes where waves sent spouts of seawater many feet high into the air; graceful arches just off the coast where seagulls love to roost; small coves and caves tucked behind a headland... sounds great doesn't it? Darryl and I were too busy trying to find suitable pebbles as souveneirs for our irritating friends back home to enjoy the view much though...hehheh
Chris got off at Franz Josef Glacier, a smaller and more commercialised glacier than Fox. We got his contact in England, so in the future if I were to go England, I will be having free accomodations and meals..whee. We reached Fox Glacier at about 6pm, checked in at the Ivory Towers backpackers lodge, and headed out for an extremely expensive dinner. My wallet is still suffering from the shock. The hostel didn't have a twin room, so we ended up sharing a bed. It was not very sleep conducive, Darryl snores and occupied most of the bed. Time to kill him with my evil little nail clipper...
11.07.2004
Woke up to freezer-like conditions this morning. Couldn't sleep well the night before, what with all the snoring and kicking and blanket pulling...breakfast was a meagre bag of potato chips and free tea. I think that most beggars eat better than we do on this trip.
After breakfast, we headed to Alpine Guided Walks, where we signed up for a half day trek up on the glacier. We were issued our gear, a pair of trekking boots that made me miss my ol' combat boots, a pair of crampons, thick socks and a knapsack. Along the way up to the glacier, we met a fellow Singaporean. Fahmi is 24 this year, and is a student at the UWA in Perth, whatever that stands for. Had a great time chatting with him during our trip. He had just came up from Queenstown after being booted out of the crowded city. Snowboarding and ice climbing are his dreams. He's a really interesting and funny chap. Now if only we could just get him to try skydiving like us....apparently he has a healthy fear of heights.
The trek up to the glacier was no walk in the park. The aging guide Graham, who reminded me of an old billy goat, set a fast pace across rugged terrain and steep slopes. After 45mins of scambling across rock strewn morraines and slick steps leading up the mountain adjacent to the glacier, I was panting and sweating in the cold air. We descended into the valley, took a couple of shots of the glacier's terminal face, then strapped on our crampons and hiked up the glacier itself. Footing was pretty treacherous, even with crampons and walking sticks, and I slipped a couple of times. The glacier looked astounding up close, one huge chunk of ice so tightly compressed that it doesn't melt when I put my hand to it. We climbed steps cut into the ice and headed up towards the middle of the valley. Along the way, we took pictures of caves, crevasses and other formations that the glacier made as a result of its movement down the mountains. We spent around an hour on the glacier, before heading back down to the valley floor where the bus was waiting. The journey back took longer than I expected, it felt like I had trekked 10km by the time I reached the bus. Well, at least I had plenty of time looking for more pebbles for friends.
Reached town at about 1.15pm, and we headed back to our accomodations with Fahmi for a few cups of steaming tea, so graciously sponsored by the hostel. At 3pm, David, a german univeristy student our age who smokes pot, joined us after his skydiving trip in the morning. We proceeded to hitch a ride up to Lake Matheson. Hitch hiking was something we have only dreamed about, and do not have the guts to try before, until Fahmi and David showed us the ropes. Its a really cheap and interesting way to travel. Arrived at Lake Matheson at around 3.45pm, and the walk around the lake lasted another hour or so. Too bad there were clouds about, if not for them, the lake would have presented us with a clear mirror image of the surrounding forest and mountains. After the walk, we hitched another ride back to town, where we had dinner consisting of pasta and mushroom soup. Pasta is the international backpackers staple food. After a long night of chatting and sharing pictures, we went back to our rooms for the night.
11.07.2004
Woke up to freezer-like conditions this morning. Couldn't sleep well the night before, what with all the snoring and kicking and blanket pulling...breakfast was a meagre bag of potato chips and free tea. I think that most beggars eat better than we do on this trip.
After breakfast, we headed to Alpine Guided Walks, where we signed up for a half day trek up on the glacier. We were issued our gear, a pair of trekking boots that made me miss my ol' combat boots, a pair of crampons, thick socks and a knapsack. Along the way up to the glacier, we met a fellow Singaporean. Fahmi is 24 this year, and is a student at the UWA in Perth, whatever that stands for. Had a great time chatting with him during our trip. He had just came up from Queenstown after being booted out of the crowded city. Snowboarding and ice climbing are his dreams. He's a really interesting and funny chap. Now if only we could just get him to try skydiving like us....apparently he has a healthy fear of heights.
The trek up to the glacier was no walk in the park. The aging guide Graham, who reminded me of an old billy goat, set a fast pace across rugged terrain and steep slopes. After 45mins of scambling across rock strewn morraines and slick steps leading up the mountain adjacent to the glacier, I was panting and sweating in the cold air. We descended into the valley, took a couple of shots of the glacier's terminal face, then strapped on our crampons and hiked up the glacier itself. Footing was pretty treacherous, even with crampons and walking sticks, and I slipped a couple of times. The glacier looked astounding up close, one huge chunk of ice so tightly compressed that it doesn't melt when I put my hand to it. We climbed steps cut into the ice and headed up towards the middle of the valley. Along the way, we took pictures of caves, crevasses and other formations that the glacier made as a result of its movement down the mountains. We spent around an hour on the glacier, before heading back down to the valley floor where the bus was waiting. The journey back took longer than I expected, it felt like I had trekked 10km by the time I reached the bus. Well, at least I had plenty of time looking for more pebbles for friends.
Reached town at about 1.15pm, and we headed back to our accomodations with Fahmi for a few cups of steaming tea, so graciously sponsored by the hostel. At 3pm, David, a german univeristy student our age who smokes pot, joined us after his skydiving trip in the morning. We proceeded to hitch a ride up to Lake Matheson. Hitch hiking was something we have only dreamed about, and do not have the guts to try before, until Fahmi and David showed us the ropes. Its a really cheap and interesting way to travel. Arrived at Lake Matheson at around 3.45pm, and the walk around the lake lasted another hour or so. Too bad there were clouds about, if not for them, the lake would have presented us with a clear mirror image of the surrounding forest and mountains. After the walk, we hitched another ride back to town, where we had dinner consisting of pasta and mushroom soup. Pasta is the international backpackers staple food. After a long night of chatting and sharing pictures, we went back to our rooms for the night.
