Franz Josef and Fox Glacier

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 24 July 2012. Posted in New Zealand

On the way to the Westland National Park with its 60 glaciers we passed Punakaiki with funny looking pancake rocks and blowholes. We stopped at the Franz Josef Glacier and did a helicopter-glacier tour.

With the helicopter they flew us on the glacier and with ice crampons we walked through holes, caves and cracks on the ice. It was just fascinating. After 3 hours on the glacier – it was sunny and 5 degree Celsius - the helicopter picked us up and brought us back to the village.

It is just amazing that the glacier goes all the way down to thick forest terrain.

Since we had perfect weather we drove to Lake Matheson which is a perfect reflector pool for the surrounding glaciers. So we could see the Mount Cook and Mount Tasman beautifully in the lake. Great fun for taking pictures.

In the evening we relaxed in open air hot pools which where included in our heli-glacier tour. Temperature outside was 0 degree Celsius and in the water we had 40 degree Celsius. Embedded in a lush forest garden, covered with canopy we felt in heaven. Since we do a lot of freedom camping we haven’t had a shower in a little while. No worries, we wash ourselves every day.

Before we drive on to Queenstown we got a glimpse on the Fox Glacier. We took two German girls with us, since they tried to hitchhike already before we started our trek at the glacier.

Abel Tasman National Park – beaches and forests

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 21 July 2012. Posted in New Zealand

We arrived in the dark after following a 12km narrow dirt road, blocked partly by rocks and trees - or sometimes a whole part of the street was missing. Just 2 weeks ago they had massive rainfalls on the south island with a lot of flooding. Weather wise we are just lucky again, it is sunny.

Suddenly in our front lights, just coming around one edge was a bucket digger. That was a bit odd. But still we could drive to our destination (no street closure), a big campsite, totally deserted. We were the only one.

Hungry as wolves and a big tour ahead we started cooking a nice dinner. And suddenly our gas cooker went dead. Empty. So we got only an extra big salad and chips. This also meant no espresso in the morning and untoasted toast. Sounded like a perfect start for a 7 hours track.

From Totaranui to Whangawharangi via Gibbs Hill back again was a 20 km tour and we did it in 4 ½ hours. Don’t know how but we had a fast pace. The estimated time of 7 hours for this track was given by the Department of Conservation. Maybe the distance was not correct but still, we covered a lot of ground. We could feel it in the muscles.

Our legs felt pretty wobbly and the last bit only downhill wasn’t a relieve. That was crazy but definitely a mind blowing landscape. The golden beaches, sandy estuaries all embedded in a natural forest. This is definitely a must do in NZ.

Let’s keep on going to refill our gas bottle. Want to have some nice dinner tonight.

Marlborough Sounds – water and islands

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 20 July 2012. Posted in New Zealand

On our way to the Marlborough Sounds we stopped by at the Nelson Lakes National Park to have a picnic at the lakes. A relaxed lunch is different – we got eaten alive by sandflies. So we continued quite fast and on our way to the Marlborough Sounds we stopped by at Nelson to get some information.

At the Elaine Bay we camped at a beautiful beach and did a little track along the coastline. The scenery with all its waterways and little islands is just amazing. After the coastal walk we drove up to the French Pass with winding, narrow streets and another stunning view.

Since it took ages to get in and out of the Marlborough Sounds – crazy serpentines – we left quite early to head towards the Tasman National Park.

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