Further on down the road in New Zealand, there is a small town called Franz Joseph. From what I can tell, nothing much occurs here, other than crazy people like to put on crampons and go hike on glaciers. The Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers to be exact. As this is to be my year with no snow, I chose to not hike the glaciers – that and it rained pretty much the whole time I was in Franz Joseph. That being said, I did go on a small hike to see the Franz Joseph Glacier.
The Glacier
Glo getting in on the action.
Me - it's the first time I was cold in New Zealand.
Needless to say, I’ve been having quite good luck with the weather in New Zealand, up until we hit Franz Joseph. It turned grey and dreary for the next couple of days, but surprisingly, it didn’t really bring down the mood at all. New Zealand just isn’t a country that lets you be unhappy, even with unending drizzly rain. The scenery is always fantastic, and it did allow me the opportunity to practice the ubiquitous “taking photos out the moving bus window” skill.
Bus shot #1
Lake Matheson - if it wasn't cloudy, you would be able to see Mt. Cook reflecting in the lake.
A blue mushroom.
Bus Shot #2.
Bus Shot #3.
Further on down the road, one gets to Queenstown, otherwise known as the adventure capital of New Zealand. As one guide put it to us New Zealand, being the country that it is – low levels of crime, no major conflicts with it’s neighbours, and amazing natural scenery – the locals tend to get a little bored from time to time, and as such have come up with a number of ways to almost kill themselves in pursuit of the maximum amount of adrenaline. Everything is on offer in Queenstown – bungy jumping, sky diving, white water rafting, river sledding (essentially navigating white water on a boogy board). And while it all sounds like fun – I really didn’t feel like killing myself at that exact moment in time. So Jenny & I decided to take in a wine tour. Highlight of which was the Mt. Difficulty Winery. They have a wine called the “Roaring Meg”. Nuff said.
Some guy from our bus getting ready to jump.
There he goes - and this is the smallest of the 3 available jumps.
These guys have the easiest job in the world.
Lined up and ready to go.
It was while in Queenstown that we heard about the Christchurch earthquake tragedy, which understandably put a halt to my plans of spending 3 nights in Queenstown. So where to spend them instead? The sleepy little hideaway of Lake Tekapo. Not a lot to do, but some stunning scenery to see on the countless walks that I took through the countryside.
Bus shot #4.
Lake Tekapo - and Glo.
Finally, some sun!
Lake Tekapo - and on top of the hill is the Observatory.
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