31. The Road to Hobbiton - Day 2

Day 2

The day in numbers:

358.6 km driven.

Corners that were sharper than expected: 47

7 near brushes with death. 

Glaciers seen: 2

3 baby kiwis seen.

Percentage of kiwis seen that were wild: 0%

Day 2 Map:

C - Haast. D - Franz Josef (glaciers). E - Greymouth

I set off from Haast bright and early, heading North up the West Coast. Again the weather was perfect and the morning sun gradually burnt off the hazy mist that was hanging around. With the forest-covered mountains on my right and the ocean on my left I drove on, in an uncharacteristically good mood. 

The scenery was (Clarkson mid-sentence pause), just breathtaking. 

As I headed up the coast towards the glaciers Fox and Franz Josef, I munched away on what I thought would be perfect for this kind of trip. A bar that is billed as 'One Square Meal'. It says that it contains 1/3 of all my daily requirements of energy, carbs, fats, protein, etc etc. I remain unconvinced. It definitely didn't replace any meals. 

Look how small it is! To fit a meals worth of food in a packet that size, it would be as dense and as heavy as lead. It isn't. 

When I reached Fox Glacier, I took a little detour down a side road through the forest to a 'viewing point'. It was all trees, ferns and moss, until suddenly a gap in the undergrowth revealed the glacier. There is something about glaciers, they are very impressive, maybe it is because they are so ancient.

I drove round to the other side of it, where you could walk up to the ice and take a closer look. It is a way better glacier than the Tasman Glacier near Mt Cook, as glaciers go anyway. Signposts recommended sturdy walking boots, a weeks supplies and a native guide with a pick-axe. I made do with my flip-flops (NZ translation: jandals) and the ability to walk up a small hill unaided by ropes and crampons.

A little further down the road from Fox Glacier is Franz Josef Glacier, I had already decided I prefered Fox because Franz Josef sounds suspiciously foreign. I went to take a look, it was getting pretty warm now. As both a mad dog and an Englishman, I went out in the midday sun and took a few snaps. (That was my very first Noel Coward reference in anything I ever written, I hope you all appreciate it!) 

This water is called Peter's Pool, and is a kettle lake, formed by a big block of ice left behind by the glacier. 

The peace and tranquility of the great outdoors is something I love, but could not find here. It was genuinely spoiled by the constant barrage of helicopters ferrying tourists to the glacier and back. I am sure they get a great view, but it did rather ruin my experience a bit. The helicopters also ruined my lunch. I had a local delicacy, a whitebait pattie, which itself was very nice, but I couldn't hear myself think over the sound of choppers taking off and landing right at the centre of the town. 

I also went to a mini-zoo in Franz Josef, and saw three baby kiwis in a darkened room. They were as cute as expected, with their long beaks and no arse, but photography was not allowed, and I am not a rule-breaker. I still would rather see a wild one though. 

I drove on and after a few close shaves, negotiated some serious 180 degree hairpin corners in the road. It was good fun to drive though. The car has very soft suspension and rocks like a boat round corners. Going round sharp corners faster than 30 km/h causes the body of the car to bank pretty significantly. 

After a pleasant afternoons drive through some old wild west gold-mining towns, and past a few smallish looking jersey herds, I got to Hokitika. It seemed a pretty nice seaside town, with a Wild Food festival coming up that I am disappointed to be missing. On the beach, as all along the coast here, there was a ton of driftwood. And a few artistic types had taken the time to construct some impressive sculptures. My favourite was this one, of a lizard fishing. 

This one of a bird in flight is a professional job, I reckon!

A relatively short drive up the coast, and I got to my end destination for the day Greymouth. The barmaid in Haast had not given the place a glowing review and I could see why. It is very much the industrial centre for the West Coast. 

It did however have some interesting looking wet lands, which I explored with the use of a kayak from the hostel. I nearly fell in getting onto the craft, but once I got going it was great. 

I used a heap of my insect repellent which kept off the worst of the biting bugs, and chased a heron around for a while. 

Righto, I am off to the very top of the South Island today, plenty of miles ahead of me so I had better get going. I will leave you with a photo of me taking the most risky self shot ever. It very nearly resulted in an early bath. The heron would have been unbearably smug.