Tuesday 29 March 2011
Intercity to Greymouth
The next day it was time to depart again and this time to Greymouth further north along the coast once again using ‘Intercity’ coaches. The trip takes us through the alpine landscape, lush farmland and sub-tropical rain forest. We have two stops on route to fuel up with coffee and cake (while the driver has a ciggie) one of which is the Bushman’s Café… A no holds barred joint selling possum meat & venison pies. Almost everything is covered in possum fur including the wooden seats! Even the walls have stag heads mounted on them for decoration giving it a hunters lodge feel - you definitely need to keep and open mind when coming here and a sense of humour… Check out the HUGE sand fly outside. On a positive note there are a number of animals here to view including a wallaby, mountain goats and deer.
Arriving at Greymouth train station spot on time (a very small building of timber resting beside a long platform) I am directed to the tourist information office for details on activities in the town. They are very helpful and I find that the main things to do are exploring the history of the area, shopping (especially for Jade artefacts) and short walks. I opt initially for finding the YHA, which turns out to be just a 10min walk from the station across the tracks. The hostel is one of those hidden gems, well worth a visit if you are travelling the country - opt to stay if you can in the 10 person dorm, which is a converted chapel, still with its original features :) and is even named as the chapel room - there is acres of room and comfortable beds as well as all the mod cons you come to expect from the YHA. Fantastic.
I have booked an Scenic Alpine train ride from Greymouth to Christchurch on the 30th March for the grand total of $55 one way - this is a special off season rate and I will be travelling through Arthur’s Pass on route so expect more photos soon :)
Next stop Christchurch…
Arriving at Greymouth train station spot on time (a very small building of timber resting beside a long platform) I am directed to the tourist information office for details on activities in the town. They are very helpful and I find that the main things to do are exploring the history of the area, shopping (especially for Jade artefacts) and short walks. I opt initially for finding the YHA, which turns out to be just a 10min walk from the station across the tracks. The hostel is one of those hidden gems, well worth a visit if you are travelling the country - opt to stay if you can in the 10 person dorm, which is a converted chapel, still with its original features :) and is even named as the chapel room - there is acres of room and comfortable beds as well as all the mod cons you come to expect from the YHA. Fantastic.
I have booked an Scenic Alpine train ride from Greymouth to Christchurch on the 30th March for the grand total of $55 one way - this is a special off season rate and I will be travelling through Arthur’s Pass on route so expect more photos soon :)
Next stop Christchurch…
A 5km walk back to town
After such an energetic tramp we did not feel like hanging around for another hour waiting for the shuttle bus so decided to walk the 5km back to town ;) this allowed us to see the work being undertaken to tame the river - there are huge dumper trucks and diggers working flat out to widen the road, build embankments and to dredge/dig out the river bed to deepen the channel - all this hard work seems dwarfed by the work of the river and the vehicles seem like Tonka toys against the backdrop! Asking the driver earlier about the river she had stated that the level of the river bed had risen by over 2m this summer alone and on average rose 1m a year 0_0 Over time this has left the bridge into town just a few feet above the river flow and therefore in great danger of flooding and cutting off a major communications link along the west coast!! I will be interested to see the area in a few years…
I was invited to join the Kiwi Experience group later in the pub and took them up on the offer and I can honestly say that they knew how to spend an evening out on the town!! A rowdy but pleasant group who made me welcome. Great evening.
I was invited to join the Kiwi Experience group later in the pub and took them up on the offer and I can honestly say that they knew how to spend an evening out on the town!! A rowdy but pleasant group who made me welcome. Great evening.
The Franz Joseph Glacier
I only saw six people in the two hours it took me to reach Roberts Point and I guessed that this was due to the route being classed as long and hard… Well I can honestly say that it was worth it as the views from the point were stunning allowing you to look down on the Franz Joseph Glacier. Amazing! It sat in its valley, a huge white behemoth dominating the landscape while tearing at the rock either side and carrying with it moraines of ground up material… I was in Awe of the site and it was only with careful viewing that you could begin to make out people on the ice… They were tiny dots just moving against the surface and it demonstrated the shear size of this glacier (I have included both a normal and zoom version of the same scene to see the group of intrepid climbers) ;) While at Roberts point I met a Canadian lady and a couple from Norway… After introductions we decided to climb down together and it was another 2 hours before we had returned to the car park, exhausted and sweaty but thrilled with the journey… We had all taken little falls onto our posteriors on route down due to the slippery nature of the trail and once we got a little turned around but soon located the track again to descend. All in all and fabulous experience and FREE. :)
Roberts point track
I was surprised to find a metal park bench on top of a rock outcrop 1½ hours into the trek overlooking the raging river - it was another Narnia moment for me, just appearing before me in a patch of sunlight after I emerged from dense forest on the steep path providing me with a rest stop to enjoy the views of waterfalls cascading down almost vertical valley sides. My favourite part of the tramp has to be the cliff side wooden walkway with its steel pins holding it in place - it transported me back to the Sigiria climb in Sri Lanka where you literally are standing over nothing suspended by only a few planks of wood bolted to pins in the rock face!! The same method applied to the swinging and bouncy suspension bridges on route which were just bolted into place using the bedrock (Not for the faint hearted or those afraid of heights) You feel like your in an Indiana Jones movie :)
The Roberts Point Climb
After hearing the legendary exploits of the GSC yesterday I decided to save my money (and health) by completing a free tramp/climb with ‘great views’ of Franz Joseph Glacier instead of venturing onto the ice itself…
This meant a $12.50 ride on the car park shuttle to cover the 5km to the starting point of all the Glacier based walking (tramping) trails. At first I took it easy with a 20min stroll up sentinel rock where it was possible to get a great view of the base of the glacier and the run-off pouring out of the ice cave. Quite an impressive site with the glacial river in the foreground testament to the shear erosive force and power of the glacier run-off being filled with boulders, uprooted trees and rubble. The second walk (CLIMB!!) was to Roberts Point, a location overlooking the glacier from a nearby ridge on the other side of the river… This was estimated to take 2½hr hike/tramp/climb each way and I was warned that it was not an easy route to complete… But, heck - I had my merrell’s on so set out with some confidence. An hour later I had crossed the river and was heading at a good pace up loosely graved pathways and rocky outcrops through lush sub-tropical rain forest every so often getting glimpses of the raging glacial river below… but this was just lulling me into a false sense of security - soon the path changed to a much more challenging environment with smooth rocky areas glistening with water, angled loose gravel paths with vertical drops by their sides, steep slopes where tree roots needed to be used as levers to pull yourself up and finally suspension bridges with shear 20m+ drops to roaring streams far below 0_0 The tramping trail was however a real pleasure to complete with sub-tropical rain forest shrouding you for the first hour and then the sun warming you up as you crested each of the four ridges on route. There were several areas on route which had suffered landslides destroying the trail and so the DOC had erected orange triangles to lead you onwards to the continuation of the path, all you needed to do was navigate the field of debris (including boulders the size of cars and hole trees!!).
This meant a $12.50 ride on the car park shuttle to cover the 5km to the starting point of all the Glacier based walking (tramping) trails. At first I took it easy with a 20min stroll up sentinel rock where it was possible to get a great view of the base of the glacier and the run-off pouring out of the ice cave. Quite an impressive site with the glacial river in the foreground testament to the shear erosive force and power of the glacier run-off being filled with boulders, uprooted trees and rubble. The second walk (CLIMB!!) was to Roberts Point, a location overlooking the glacier from a nearby ridge on the other side of the river… This was estimated to take 2½hr hike/tramp/climb each way and I was warned that it was not an easy route to complete… But, heck - I had my merrell’s on so set out with some confidence. An hour later I had crossed the river and was heading at a good pace up loosely graved pathways and rocky outcrops through lush sub-tropical rain forest every so often getting glimpses of the raging glacial river below… but this was just lulling me into a false sense of security - soon the path changed to a much more challenging environment with smooth rocky areas glistening with water, angled loose gravel paths with vertical drops by their sides, steep slopes where tree roots needed to be used as levers to pull yourself up and finally suspension bridges with shear 20m+ drops to roaring streams far below 0_0 The tramping trail was however a real pleasure to complete with sub-tropical rain forest shrouding you for the first hour and then the sun warming you up as you crested each of the four ridges on route. There were several areas on route which had suffered landslides destroying the trail and so the DOC had erected orange triangles to lead you onwards to the continuation of the path, all you needed to do was navigate the field of debris (including boulders the size of cars and hole trees!!).
Meeting theGSC
Arriving in Franz Joseph I find that the YHA continues to offer a comfortable place to stay and the 4 bed dorms here are good value. The settlement is very small with just two streets and three cross streets (easily walkable in 20mins) and includes several places to eat, a garage and small supermarket (bare in mind that the prices are significantly higher than in Wanaka so you might want to stock up first). I meet a great group of guys and take part in an environmental quiz for ‘Earth Hour’, while discussing philosophy! We fail to win (but its not about the winning its the taking part ;)) later, cards are dealt out and we play a few hands well into the evening :) By the end of the evening I have discovered that they are all heading on a full day hike onto and over the Franz Joseph Glacier in the morning…
Today is wet… I mean WET… It started raining in the early morning and has not stopped tipping it down since then!! Considering that it is now late afternoon this means it has been raining heavily for more than 8 hours straight 0_0 and while it has now stopped there are ominous looking clouds overhead threatening another downpour… Asking about the rainfall I discover that the average rainfall here is measured not in ‘mm’ but in ‘m’ - Geography textbooks will quote 2000mm of rain being average for a rainforest… well… Here they have between 5 and 9m (5000-9000mm) a year! Making it one of the wettest places on earth… Today it has lived up to this average and once again while I type it starts to rain heavily again!!
GSC (Glacier Survivors Club)
This is the name I have given to the group of guys who I met last night as they returned with legendary tales from their full day Glacier hike this evening… It had rained all day and this had made the ice particularly slippery and left the whole group soaked through, on top of this they had traversed a tricky piece of ice and this had led to several slips while wearing the required crampons (for those that do not know these are boot sole attachment with spikes to dig into the ice)… Well… The legendary tales included; While climbing the Glacier Dave had lost his footing on a steep slope, fallen over and ended up on his front sliding towards almost certain death over the edge of a 50m deep crevasse, wildly but ineffectively grabbing at the ice with his hands like a wild cat!! 0_0 Only the lightning fast reactions of the guide saved him as he turned round and grabbed Dave’s pack to haul him to a stop and helped him up to his feet, hands bloodied and knee battered… As you can imagine this is enough to leave anyone shaken up, but all merit to him, Dave braved the conditions and continued even though bruised. Next came another fall as the crampons were not something easy to walk in and this led to another moment of floundering on the ice with another fall leading to an bruised thumb! Continuing up the glacier came the third and final incident where a women climber also lost her footing, slamming into the ice and rolled over to a stop only to find a world of hurt in a dislocated shoulder!! Serious enough for a helicopter air lift off the glacier 0_0 With great care the remaining 10 hikers gathered themselves together and headed for the exit point of the glacier and returned to the YHA… It was there that I met them - a bedraggled bunch who had survived the glacier experience and still had the bruises to prove it!! I had thought that I would climb the glacier tomorrow… But now I think just looking at it from the hiking trail will be more than enough and save some money into the bargain… In the words of one member of the group - some things you just do once and this is one of them!! I was invited to join them all for a beer at the only happening bar in town and enjoyed a night in good company. Here is to the GSC Cheers and happy travels :)
Today is wet… I mean WET… It started raining in the early morning and has not stopped tipping it down since then!! Considering that it is now late afternoon this means it has been raining heavily for more than 8 hours straight 0_0 and while it has now stopped there are ominous looking clouds overhead threatening another downpour… Asking about the rainfall I discover that the average rainfall here is measured not in ‘mm’ but in ‘m’ - Geography textbooks will quote 2000mm of rain being average for a rainforest… well… Here they have between 5 and 9m (5000-9000mm) a year! Making it one of the wettest places on earth… Today it has lived up to this average and once again while I type it starts to rain heavily again!!
GSC (Glacier Survivors Club)
This is the name I have given to the group of guys who I met last night as they returned with legendary tales from their full day Glacier hike this evening… It had rained all day and this had made the ice particularly slippery and left the whole group soaked through, on top of this they had traversed a tricky piece of ice and this had led to several slips while wearing the required crampons (for those that do not know these are boot sole attachment with spikes to dig into the ice)… Well… The legendary tales included; While climbing the Glacier Dave had lost his footing on a steep slope, fallen over and ended up on his front sliding towards almost certain death over the edge of a 50m deep crevasse, wildly but ineffectively grabbing at the ice with his hands like a wild cat!! 0_0 Only the lightning fast reactions of the guide saved him as he turned round and grabbed Dave’s pack to haul him to a stop and helped him up to his feet, hands bloodied and knee battered… As you can imagine this is enough to leave anyone shaken up, but all merit to him, Dave braved the conditions and continued even though bruised. Next came another fall as the crampons were not something easy to walk in and this led to another moment of floundering on the ice with another fall leading to an bruised thumb! Continuing up the glacier came the third and final incident where a women climber also lost her footing, slamming into the ice and rolled over to a stop only to find a world of hurt in a dislocated shoulder!! Serious enough for a helicopter air lift off the glacier 0_0 With great care the remaining 10 hikers gathered themselves together and headed for the exit point of the glacier and returned to the YHA… It was there that I met them - a bedraggled bunch who had survived the glacier experience and still had the bruises to prove it!! I had thought that I would climb the glacier tomorrow… But now I think just looking at it from the hiking trail will be more than enough and save some money into the bargain… In the words of one member of the group - some things you just do once and this is one of them!! I was invited to join them all for a beer at the only happening bar in town and enjoyed a night in good company. Here is to the GSC Cheers and happy travels :)
On to Franz Joseph
I am working my way up along the west coast of New Zealand using Inter City coaches. The coaches have proven to be a reliable, comfortable and an entertaining mode of transport giving me ample time to take in the stunning views on route - at times the driver would pull over and allow us to disembark and take photos of the panoramas. It is a long drive to Franz Joseph from Wanaka so there are several short stops on route including a meal stop at a remote salmon farm selling all manor of snacks based on their farm stock and certainly supported by the regular patronage of bus companies on the west coast route. But be aware that there are sand flies here so do not linger too long outside…
The west coast is a mix of deep glacial valleys and towering mountain peaks covered in a thick covering of sub tropical rain forest and occasionally topped with the white crests of snow and ice. The trees are densely packed and protected in national parks overseen by the DOC (Department of conservation) - as the forests have grown they have developed their own habitats for a range of life, which only David Attenborough could do full justice to… It is wonderful to walk among the moss covered trunks of this almost pristine habitat and discover hidden from site glittering waterfalls… As the bus carries on the driver points out places of interest including significant farms, industries, tectonic faults and glacial features. I find the rivers and faults of particular interest. The rivers due to the evidence of their power - demonstrated through the huge boulders and trees scattered across there pebbled and rocky braided channels, dragged from their perches by the powerful flow of the water. The river beds on route have risen dramatically with the deposited load and this has left some areas at risk from flooding and in turn has led to the governmental agencies making every effort to complete defensive projects to keep transport and communication routes open including dredging channels and defending river banks with rock armour and banks while re-building/strengthening roads and bridges. The faults are also evident in the landscape as we pass with great cracks running up the hillsides creating gaps in the vegetation cover for water to cascade down impressively.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Wanaka and another beautiful lake
After booking two nights in Wanaka I organise a bus ticket for 8am arriving in Wanaka by 10am, this proves very easy to complete and buses regularly ply the route with a number of companies. Wanaka sites beside lake Wanaka which is a glistening stretch of water reflecting the surroundings mountains on a sunny day. Reaching the town I am dropped off directly at the door of the YHI centre ;) which allows me to get bags dropped off and get out into the countryside for a hike…
I find a local walk less than 2km down the road to the peak of ‘Mt Iron’ - this proves to be a lovely quiet walk on well maintained gravel tracks over both private and public land. As you ascend you begin to get views across the town and lake, enough to make you envious of the people living here ;) It is a 45min hike to the top but I complete it in under 30mins and stop sweating at the summit to take in the panorama… It is wonderful as I am able on this sunny day to see right across to the surroundings mountains and with an unobstructed 360 degree view of the countryside :) Looking down the vantage point allows you to get a birds eye view of the ‘Puzzle world’ which is a complex maze full of puzzles and a café - the outside of the building is designed to be puzzling to the visitor and the clock on the tower at the front goes backwards!! A good excuse for not getting somewhere on time ;) However, today I am unable to take advantage of the maze as on route downhill my toothache starts again and grows to be a painful ache, which stops me from drinking my coffee!! And that’s were I draw the line… 2 paracetamol and a 2km walk later and I am on my way to the local dentist to arrange an appointment…
Toothache update - after two nights of growing pain in my lower right jaw I relented to take paracetamol, which reduced it enough to sleep on the first night but did little on the second night… grumble… Doesn’t settle in Wanaka - in fact peaks on way down from Mt Iron, so sort out an appointment in Wanaka - leads to an efternoon session and diagnosis. medication is prescribed (more antibiotics) but could mean root canal work when I return to UK… Doh… Could be worse almost starte it today!!
Advise - make sure that you book in and see a dentist if your teeth play up while your travelling!! Do not hope that it will go away as it might just be an infection... more news to follow...
I find a local walk less than 2km down the road to the peak of ‘Mt Iron’ - this proves to be a lovely quiet walk on well maintained gravel tracks over both private and public land. As you ascend you begin to get views across the town and lake, enough to make you envious of the people living here ;) It is a 45min hike to the top but I complete it in under 30mins and stop sweating at the summit to take in the panorama… It is wonderful as I am able on this sunny day to see right across to the surroundings mountains and with an unobstructed 360 degree view of the countryside :) Looking down the vantage point allows you to get a birds eye view of the ‘Puzzle world’ which is a complex maze full of puzzles and a café - the outside of the building is designed to be puzzling to the visitor and the clock on the tower at the front goes backwards!! A good excuse for not getting somewhere on time ;) However, today I am unable to take advantage of the maze as on route downhill my toothache starts again and grows to be a painful ache, which stops me from drinking my coffee!! And that’s were I draw the line… 2 paracetamol and a 2km walk later and I am on my way to the local dentist to arrange an appointment…
Toothache update - after two nights of growing pain in my lower right jaw I relented to take paracetamol, which reduced it enough to sleep on the first night but did little on the second night… grumble… Doesn’t settle in Wanaka - in fact peaks on way down from Mt Iron, so sort out an appointment in Wanaka - leads to an efternoon session and diagnosis. medication is prescribed (more antibiotics) but could mean root canal work when I return to UK… Doh… Could be worse almost starte it today!!
Advise - make sure that you book in and see a dentist if your teeth play up while your travelling!! Do not hope that it will go away as it might just be an infection... more news to follow...
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