New Zealand. Keep going.

 Ok, we are on the move again. Headed towards the South with the final destination Fjordland (yay!). Our first stop was Franz Josef Glacier. 

Quite touristy village where toothpaste costs $15 and where most of the people are tourists jumping on the bus to crawl in a guided tour over the glacier. Well, we have to admit that the glacier IS impressive and no matter you would be insulted by being called tourist because you actually climbed on glacier in remote wilderness of Swiss Alps you simply have to go to have a look.  The Franz Josef glacier is one of those rare exceptions where the glacier actually regrows.

You follow the tourist path to the glacier – click click click - take few photos (everybody from the same spot) and go back. Let’s just leave this place.

The weather was getting worse towards the South. Apparently the Copland Pass got very technically difficult just recently, so we had to leave this plan and stick to Welcome Flat Hut (only about 5 hrs from the parking) to soak in the thermal pools. Oops, the DOC is starting repair works on the Architect Bridge, so we had to leave this plan too.

So to Wanaka. Really nice little town or better to say village. We pretty much camped in one of the local pubs with great coffee and horrible locally brewed beer (ha ha ha!). It’s really funny how easy it is to recognise climber. Wanaka neighbourhood is hiding over 500 bolted roots! And of course, we couldn’t resist ‘just to have a look’ at the massive Icebreaker offer in local shops (oh yes, shopping). Our credit card was desperately and hopelessly trying to hide in the wallet....  

But because we are in New Zealand not only for shopping (as some other people may have experienced) we decided to do one of the very few possible treks in this region. DOC issued serious weather warnings, Cascade saddle is still under the snow with danger of slides and wind around 70k on the tops... Decision is made – Rob Roy in the rain. We ended our day with slimy fingers after ribs dinner and stroll through beautiful

Queenstown. It is very  surprising little town (only approx 3400 people living here). The architecture is a mix of old and new style – stone, steel, timber, glass, it’s amazing how tasteful this mix can be. It’s also very posh and fancy (Louis Vuitton store!) and we feel little under-dressed J But it’s cosy and romantic (ach).

At night we headed towards Te Anau, the gateway to Fjordland (yay!). Somehow this time we didn’t manage to sneak out of the camp without paying the necessary fee. Few discussions with co-hikers persuaded us to do one of the Great Walks – the Kepler Track. Fortunately it is possible to camp on the trek and skip the crowded, luxurious and especially expensive huts ($50pp/night). Weather should be clearing towards the weekend.

Next on the plan is Dusky track. So far all reactions were raised eyebrows. FAQ is ‘have you seen any of the photos from the track?’ Well, it’s not surprising considering Hen’s cashmere scarf and our super new shiny Icebreakers. But we feel challenged by the guidebook sentence ‘the most demanding trek in New Zealand’. We see ourselves fighting the wild rivers, sinking into the deep mud, being soaked by the heavy rains and dried by the strong winds. The vision of rewarding views and experience is over helming. In reality we’ll be sick of the rain, wind, mud, rivers and – we cannot forget – billions of sandflies in ten minutes but it’s not going to stop us.

How a small camera can sometimes take better pictures than the big camera...