After some very deserted long and windy roads through some very foggy weather we arrived at the Tasman Sea. Fortunately for us we had made our way out of the bad weather and found ourselves crusing along the coast road in the blazing sunshine. Making our way south along the coast you could take your pick of the beauty spots for lunch, and we chose a cracker along a gorgeous stretch of uninhabited beach. Before long we arrived at the small town of Punakaiki, home to the so called Pancake Rocks. These rocks have been formed over millions of years, and have resulted in the most extreme form of sediment layering. Hence their name as the Pancake Rocks.
The weather was still holding out pretty nicely by the time we arrived to our next camp ground, but despite it being a nice enough evening it was a bit on the cold side for a dip in the lake. We were however joined by some very inquisitive kiwiesque flightless birds who seemed very interesting in getting their beaks into our cuppa soup. I guess everyone needs a great big hug in a mug. We are feeling the cold in the South Island more and more, each hundred kilometers or so further we go the colder it gets after the sun has gone down. Seasonwise Its the polar opposite to the UK, we are exactly 12 hours time difference, and right now we are fast approaching the middle of Autumn.
Expecting to wake up to more sunshine we were dissapointed by a downpour which was to last for around 24 hours. We headed into the town of Hokitika, and hunting for some dry indoor activites (by this time the downpour was torrential) we happened upon the Jade Museum. The town is famous for its Jade and Greenstone and gave us a good hour or so inside to see some live carving and wander the workshops. With a break in the rain we decided to brave it and head further south towards the Franz Josef Glacier. A short 50km drive took forever as we had to pull over several times as the level of rain coming down was so horrendous, and the lowlying fog meant you couldn't see to the end of the one-lane bridges to give way even if you wanted to. These one-lane bridges are everywhere in this part of New Zealand, we did 20 in one morning, whats wrong with a good old two lane bridge.
The following day we saw the Franz Josef Glacier. A short 30 minute walk from the town brings you to the face of the glacier. The glacier offered nothing of the grandeur or splendour of the glaciers we saw in South America but they made for a good day out all the same. Here we had our first mechanical trouble as Marv decided he had had enough, but (fortunately) we were parked in the visitors centre car park so we weren't stranded in the middle of nowhere. With a bit of persistence and good kick we were able to get Marvin running again and made the 30km uphill and subsequent downhill slalom through some extreme rains to the nearby Fox Glacier. Without wanting to be all glaciered out we decided to leave the Fox Glacier for the following day. We instead made for the nearby Lake Matheson which would normally offer splendid mirror like reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in the background. However half way round the lake the heavens re-opened and with at least 30 minutes to the nearest form of shelter we took an absolute soaking. Adam more so for claiming before setting out that there would be no need to take a rain jacket. The even more unfortunate consequence of this is that we failed to be able to see anything in the reflection of the lake, in fact we could hardly make out the otherside of the lake.
The weather here in New Zealand can be extreme, extremities we can handle but the speed in which it can swing between opposites is alarming. The almost instantaneous change in the weather can be your best friend (when its raining) to your worst enemy (when it starts to rain out of nowhere). More often than not though the change in weather will catch you out for the worst, and nowhere more so than here on the South Islands West Coast. The West Coast gets six times more rain than London, and ranks as one of the wettest habitated places on the planet. It rains more than two out of every three days.
That night we took a wander down to a forest walk that was a home to thousands of glowworms. Expecting a cave in which to enter we walked the length of this 20 minute trail in the dark with nothing but a flash light and found not a glimpse of any cave in which the glowworms might be dwelling. Just as we were about to admit defeat and head back to the campsite we established (with a bit of help) that the glowworms didn't reside in a cave but in fact had set up home in amongst the wet moss of the trees. By turning the flashlight off and with a keen eye we could soon make out a lot of small but bright (for their size) glowworms hanging from the tree's. That night we were based between the two glaciers in what was without doubt the coldest night we have had not just in New Zealand but on our whole trip, colder than Machu Picchu, the Bolivian Salt Flats or Chilean Patagonia. The Uniqlo thermal underwear is starting to pay for itself now, as we were wrapped up fully clothed under sheet, duvet, blanket and sleeping bags and still cold!
The following morning however we were blessed with some clear skies and some great views of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. After taking Marv to get a look over at the only mechanics in town, (the Fox Glacier Village is tiny) we made for the star attraction, the Fox Glacier. Again it was nice to see but compared to the Perito Merino and Viedma in Argentina it was a bit of a pale comparison. What was interesting however was the rate at which the Glacier is retreating, as you approach the glacier you pass signs such as "in 1750 the glacier was here" and so on. Since 1930 the glacier has retreated around a kilometer and stood at what is now the visitors car park!
After a short stay at the glacier we started to make our way towards the Haast Pass some 560m up from us at sea level to start our route inland....
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