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On the Road to Queenstown

After a few days in Franz Josef, we boarded a bus for an all-day ride to Queenstown. Lucky us, we had Pete the driver for the first leg of the trip, and Lewis for the last leg. Both of these drivers had the storytelling gene and were steeped in pride and knowledge about the South Island of New Zealand.

Pete pulled off on a side road not too long after we started out from Franz Josef. On this fine, clear morning, he wanted to show us what he called the “trifecta view” …and the crazy white bull. We piled out of the bus on an empty country road and there across a sweet-smelling field, glowing in the morning sun, sat three New Zealand treasures: the Fox Glacier, Mt. Cook, and Mt. Tasman. We stayed there for a bit, taking photos and big gulps of fresh New Zealand mountain air. Back onboard, Pete then told us about the old white bull. This bull, either bored or crazy, is known for chasing cars like a dog—running alongside the road, inside his fence, snorting and carrying on. This morning however, the old bull was sleeping in the back corner of his pen. Alone with the view and the lonely road.

New Zealand's Fox Glacier, Mt. Cook, and Mt. Tasman — *New Zealand’s Fox Glacier, Mt. Cook, and Mt. Tasman.*

*Looking for dolphins in Bruce Bay, New Zealand.*

*Pleasant Flat, South Island New Zealand.*

We made more stops that day: at Bruce Bay to look for dolphins, and at Pleasant Flat just to gaze at the fields and mountains. Pete also told us the story of Knight, the opportunistic dog who went back-and-forth between two construction crews to get double the food and love during the west coast road-building of the 1950-60s. The story goes something like this:

Two road construction teams began from opposite ends, intent on meeting in the middle. After some years of construction, the two teams met north of Haast at a picturesque place on the coast. Officials journeyed to the meeting point to make arrangements for a commemorative monument by the roadside. In the course of conversation with the construction crew about naming the location, the crew informed the delegation from Wellington that the area had already been named Knight’s Point. The officials inquired who “Knight” was and were informed that he was the surveyor’s dog. Turns out the dog would stay with one crew part of the day, eat dinner with them, and then sometime in the evening, hike over to the other crew. They would feed him breakfast before he headed back to the first crew later in the day. Neither crew knew until they came together and both mentioned that the dog belonged with their crew. The official opening was on 6 November 1965, and is known as Knight’s Point for the dog.

We changed drivers at Thunder Creek, saying good-bye to Pete and hello to Lewis. We had some time to wander off the road down to the waterfall at Thunder Creek. Just a normal stop on the typical road in South Island, New Zealand…and there’s a waterfall. As I got back on the bus and studied the map, I smiled at the name of the area…Mt. Aspiring National Park. New Zealand is endearing in so many ways.

*The waterfall at Thunder Creek, New Zealand.*

*Our bus at Thunder Creek, New Zealand.*

*The beaches of Lake Hawea, South Island New Zealand.*

Queenstown

Lewis, the bus driver, dropped us near our hotel. The Queenstown Motel Apartments are a family run place where the rooms have balconies, spotless kitchenettes, and the breezes from the brilliant blue Lake Wakatipu.

We spent many happy days there in Queenstown, our base from which to explore the Milford Sound and Mt. Cook areas. It was a short but steep walk up and down to the town center, past three 100+ year old sequoias. Some favorite memories center around food and the beach/pier area:

Joe’s Garage. They put a little twist on the typical NZ breakfast offering with the Gorgeous George.

Taco Medic. Picnic tables in a little alley where I filled up on The Producer tacos: a most tasty combination of black beans with thyme and garlic, sweet pumpkin, cole slaw with pickled red onion, cilantro, coriander and feta cheese…yum.

The rock beach at Lake Wakatipu, near the pier, the street performers, and the ice cream shop. One day a couple dressed in wedding attire showed up on the beach with a photographer and a loaf of bread. How entertaining it was to watch this “trash the dress” or “good luck” session on the beach for the next hour. The couple invited the birds to crowd around their feet with bits of bread, and then ran through the flock for photos. Again, and again, and again.

Another day, we sat watching the mama seagulls come and go, bringing back morsels to feed their hungry teenagers. While the nearly full-sized teenagers waited for mom, they’d stand in the surf, staring into the sky and crying out. Some mean little kid came along and threw stones at one of the young birds we were watching. Thankfully, he missed. And I yelled “HEY! NO! Stop it!” as the kid raised his hand for another try. For a split second I thought the kid was going to throw his rocks at me instead. I was ready to jump up and chase the little turkey down the beach. But he thought better of it, dropped his rocks and ran off, I suppose to tell his mum that someone had yelled at him. His mom didn’t come to bless me out, the kiddo didn’t come back to bother the birds, the teenage birds’ moms did come back to feed their rattled babes, and thus, a happy ending.

Queenstown's rocky beach at Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand — *Queenstown’s rocky beach at Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand.*

*Locks on the Queenstown pier / Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand. Print available on Etsy.*

Ice cream near the pier in Queenstown — *Ice cream shop near the pier in Queenstown, New Zealand.*

If you are going to New Zealand, we have unused bus pass hours for two people for sale at a discount. We have 17 hours each for 2 people which is a $175 USD ($260 NZD) total value. We’re selling the hours for $150 USD total. Payment can be made via Paypal, and with a quick name transfer at InterCity.co.nz, the passes will be yours. The pass hours are good for bus or ferry services. Travel has to be completed by January 5, 2019. Comment or message me if you’re interested!

“South Island roads are different. Allow more time.”

We exited the splendid TranzAlpine train from Christchurch at Greymouth and now boarded an InterCity bus to see the Franz Josef Glacier. We chose to leave the driving to someone else and purchased InterCity bus passes online. Bus passes are sold by hour packages, for example a 15-hour pass could take you on a 7 hour trip, the 7 hour return, and give you an hour left over. With a simple bus pass code, we scheduled our travel online. Easy, peasy. Together, InterCity, GreatSights and Gray Line connect locals and travelers all over New Zealand, with special coach buses to and from key scenic destinations. The bus drivers are country-proud Kiwis, serving as tour guides in addition to driver, conductor, and baggage handler. There are bathrooms and free WiFi on board, and you can’t beat the view—especially when you don’t have to concentrate on those crazy South Island roads.

Please note: If you are going to New Zealand, we have unused bus pass hours for two people for sale at a discount. We have 17 hours each for 2 people which is a $175 USD ($260 NZD) total value. We’re selling the hours for $150 USD total. Payment can be made via Paypal, and with a quick name transfer at InterCity.co.nz, the passes will be yours. The pass hours are good for bus or ferry services. Travel has to be completed by January 5, 2019. Comment or message me if you’re interested!

It is a 3.5 hours bus ride from Greymouth to Franz Josef. We arrived on time, and were dropped at our Franz Josef YHA hostel.

*Detail of a New Zealand fern in the rainforest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park*

Hostels…at our age?!

Well, yes! New Zealand’s YHA hostel system is a great idea for those of us who want centrally-located, clean accommodations without the fussy price. In Franz Josef, and in Wellington, we chose the YHA Hostel and got a double-bed room with a private bath. We did our laundry there, alongside some twenty-something backpackers, and hit the streets for a walkabout before dinner. We landed at an outside table at Alice May’s, with a view of all the surrounding mountains. The next morning, we awoke to the singing of unknown birds, and helicopters going up to the glacier.

*Bryan crossing the Waiho River on the Bailey Bridge in Franz Josef, New Zealand*

So, who is Franz Josef?

The glacier was named after Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria by a German explorer, Julius von Haast in 1865. The Māori name for the glacier is Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere (which translates to “The tears of Hine Hukatere”). The legend says that Hine Hukatere loved climbing in the mountains and persuaded her lover, Wawe, to climb with her. Wawe was a less experienced climber than Hine Hukatere but loved to accompany her. One day, an avalanche swept Wawe to his death. Hine Hukatere was broken-hearted and her many, many tears flowed down the mountain and froze to form the glacier. In 1998, the name of the glacier was officially changed to Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere.

From the Southern Alps, the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimtata ō Hine Hukatere steeply descends into the rainforest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park, making it more accessible for most people. In addition to being one of the steepest glaciers in the world, it also moves faster than average glaciers at over 19 inches per day (and 13 feet per day has been recorded in some sections).

Unlike others, this glacier has a more cyclic nature..receding and returning periodically. A 1946 postage stamp depicts the view of the glacier from St James Anglican Church. The church was built in 1931 with a panoramic altar window looking out to the glacier. By 1954, the glacier had disappeared from the church window’s view, but it reappeared in 1997. The glacier was still advancing until 2008, when it entered a very rapid phase of retreat. As of 2018 it is said to be rapidly advancing again.

Bryan and New Zealand waterfalls in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park near Franz Josef — *Bryan is dwarfed by New Zealand waterfalls in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park near Franz Josef*

The winding Waiho River in the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere valley runs beside the trail to the viewing point — *The winding Waiho River (in the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere valley) runs beside the trail to the viewing point*

Hiking to the Glacier

After a hearty breakfast of poached eggs on potato cakes and a few cups of stout coffee at Full of Beans, we headed out for a hike to meet Franz Josef, as New Zealanders so poetically say, “the glay-see-air”. Past the town, over the Waiho (said “Y-Ho”), and down the path through the rainforest we went. We encountered a variety of ferns, more new bird songs, smoke on the water, and warning signs to stay on the path to avoid dangers of quickly changing conditions in the glacial valley. One sign warned of falling ice “as big as a campervan”, another sign showed 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. comparison photos of the same spot in the riverbed, on a day when the river had surged, flooding the valley. !!! We kept to the path, past waterfalls, rich copper and mustard-colored lichen-covered boulders, stones with evidence of glacial striations…on and on we hiked, the sound of gravel under our feet. The sky grew darker, the temperature got cooler, and the green landscape gave way to gray. Poles, presumably for marking the trail in high snow or raging floods, were marked “no stopping” as we neared the viewing point.

*In the final mile of the hike to the viewing point, Franz Josef Glacier.*

*Sculpted mountain sides, showing where the Franz Josef Glacier once reached. Now this is the path to the viewing point.*

And there it was. Franz Josef Glacier. At the end of the path, and across an expanse of dark gray rocks was a giant tongue of blue ice in the valley between the the mountains. The scale was shocking.

The blue tip of the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, New Zealand's South Island — *The blue tip of the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, New Zealand’s South Island*

A cool clamminess settled in as we stood there admiring the glacier. It has receded in recent years, and the empty gray riverbed in front of us ghost shadowed where it’d been and where it may again be one day. Rain came. A steady, solid rain. We put our jackets on over our packs and turned to see the long path ahead of us. It was peaceful, walking alone in that moody landscape. The rain stopped about an hour later, and we were almost dry before reaching the hostel.

*The long walk back to Franz Josef from the glacier viewing point, New Zealand*

*Rich colors of lichen covers the river banks alongside the Waiho glacial valley river in Franz Josef.*

That night we rewarded ourselves with a big delicious meal at the Landing, underneath an awning in another rain shower. As we sat there admiring the mountains at the end of the road, and recapping our day, the waitress told us that the town had been advised 4 months ago to move…to pick up the entire town and relocate. Why? Because this sweet little town of Franz Josef sits squarely on top of the volatile Alpine Fault line *and* mostly below river level. Meaning that any earthquake “event” would likely crack the town in half and the Waiho would flood what was left behind. Good luck Franz Josef.

Traveler, dog lover, photographer, writer

intercity.co.nz

On the Road to Queenstown