The Franz Jospeh Glacier

Monday April 9, 2012

We got up reasonably early and started out for Franz Joseph, a small resort town to the northwest of here (5-hour drive) with a glacier of the same name. The day started out foggy but cleared as we headed into the foothills and mountain valleys to the north. Soon we found ourselves in one of those wonderful New Zealand valleys with lush, green pastures filled with sheep and farmlands spreading out on both sides to the foothills, then onward to the craggy mountains.

That lasted about an hour; then we hit with twisty-turny mountain roads
heading up over the mountains to the north and the west. It also began to rain lightly, but enough to slow us down during the 35 kmph switchbacks along the way.

After about another couple of hours, we approached the western hills and eventually the coast. We were able to get a good glimpse of the beaches along the way—mostly dark sand
scattered with driftwood brought in by the roaring surf. I even stopped to get my friend, Brick, another sample of New Zealand sand—this time from the western beaches facing the Tasman
Sea.

Leaving the beaches we began a long climb through a remarkable tropical forest—again with all the windy roads and astounding views into the valleys and river gorges below. We finally reached Franz Joseph at about 3:30pm and checked into our hotel. The town is about 3 or 4 blocks filled mostly with motels, restaurants, shops and tourist services—like glacier
walking. It was too late for a guided tour, but we soon took off for the Franz Joseph Glacier access trail—about 4 km further up the hill.

The first part of the trail consisted of a ½-mile trek on foot through a tropical rain forest. The
trail opened onto a huge expanse of rocks and boulders cut, from top to bottom, by a roaring stream—obviously from melted glacial ice. The glacier lay ominously at the furthest reaches of the open ground—about a mile uphill--curled up as if ready to spring and baring its teeth of ice and grit dragged down from the highest elevations of the mountain towering above.

Linda and I walked across the marked path among the loose rocks and boulders. Finally we reached a place where we could look directly into the giant maw of the glacier. It held the blue of the ice and the sky above—with almost a supernatural glow from inside. I, of course, wanted a
closer look, so I climbed up another rocky hill and got a more face-to-face introduction to our ancient friend. I wasn’t close enough to get a good estimate of the thickness of the ice, but it
must have been 20-30 feet—probably more. What I could finally see was the body of the glacier, stretched out behind up and up the mountain side—as far as the eye could see. I quickly came to realize the immense power of this phenomenon and what it must have been like eons ago when still young and raking down the mountainside with those icy claws.

I rejoined Linda and we made our way back across the rocky field and through the tropical rain forest trail in the dimming light. It is more than just a “pun” to note that the Franz Joseph glacier became one of the many “highpoints” of our travels downunder.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a transition day with a 2-hour drive to Greymouth on the western Pacific coast and a 4 ½ hour Trans-Alpine Express train ride eastward over the alps to return to Christchurch. Soon we will fly to Sydney and after an overnight stop continue our return home.