Franz Josef Glacier

Kei Ora,

Last night I arrived in Franz Josef, after a seven hour bus ride from Queenstown. It was raining heavily when we departed Queenstown, so the scenery was obscured by the rain, fog and clouds for the first third of the trip.

Around lunch time the rain stopped, and the magnificent scenery reappeared. Imagine an expansive, bright blue glacier carved lake, surrounded by high, lush green mountains. And above those mountains are higher mountain peaks of jagged rocks, capped with snow, backed with a clear, blue, cloudless sky. Or, remove the lake, and insert rolling greenish, brown pasture land with grazing sheep or cows.

At one point we drove along the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea is the body of water on the West coast of New Zealand. The water was gray and turbulent. The shore was rocky with pebbles instead of sand. Violent, crashing waves, and sea foam on the pebbled shore. Not peaceful.

Alot of ride was through rainforest. The glaciers -- Fox and Franz Josef are located in/above the rainforest. Of course, once we hit the rainforest, it started raining again, only lightly. It rains 6 meters of rain each year in this area.

I arrived in Franz Joseph at dusk last night, so there wasn't much time to explore.

This morning I took a helicopter tour to the glacier. It's beauty is beyond words, but I will throw out a few adjectives: white, majestic, awesome, incredible. And the contrast against the green rainforest below is striking. And to think our greedy human self-interest is rapidly destroying this awe-inspiring magnificence! The helicopter landed on the glacier by an ice covered lake. The area was white and pristine. And against the clear, blue sky with wisps of clouds, the glacier was so beautiful. The helicopter ride was cool. It was my first time in a helicopter. Got to sit next to the pilot.

This afternoon I will hike on the glacier. That should be fun. Will write more when I get a chance.

Cheers,
Stacey