We went on together in the morning to see Fox Glacier and then on to the Franz Josef Glacier. I have never seen Glaciers in the summer before. They real were very impressive - even in the bad weather. From a distance you can not tell how big they are but when you see people walking on them you realise that they are massive. We could not get on to the Fox Glacier because the recent flooding had washed away the track. We did walk up to the Franz Josef and then ran back as it started raining heavily.
In the afternoon the weather cleared up and we drove on towards Hokitka, stopping off on the way to go for little walks etc. We had a lovely picnic by lake Ruatapu on the way. I knew that my friend Elin, from the UK, was in Hokitka for New Years Eve and so I wanted to be there to meet up with her. There is also a guy (Kevin) from Warm Showers in the town and so I left Christoph in the early evening and biked into Hokitka to meet with Kevin and stay with him, while Christoph went off into the mountains.
I had a really nice evening with Kevin and a lovely meal. He is a very intelligent and interesting man with a huge amount of mountaineering experince. It was great to talk with someone with the same interests and with a lot more knowledge than me. He has done some very serious trips in the mountains.
Kevin went to bed about 11 and I headed out into town see if I could find Elin (she had not received my email in time and I did not have her mobile number at that point). I went to the main pub in town and got a drink an saw the New Year in with the New Zealand locals. It was fun. I was pretty sober and most other people were not :-) It was unfortunate that I did not manage to find Elin.
After New Year had hit and I had phoned friends and family at home, I headed off out of town to go and visit the glow worms (Kevin had recommended a trip). I am really glad I did. The area is accessed via a short path which then takes you to an enclosed area with cliffs on 3 sides, trees on the top and then the sky above. In the dark it is awesome as there where thousands and thousands of glow worms lighting up the cliff walls and then there is a layer of over hanging trees and then the stars above. In parts it is not clear where the glow worms finish and the stars begin. A beautiful place to sit and ponder the existence of life and think about the year ahead. I really enjoyed being there on my own just being.
Happy New Year Everyone!
In the afternoon the weather cleared up and we drove on towards Hokitka, stopping off on the way to go for little walks etc. We had a lovely picnic by lake Ruatapu on the way. I knew that my friend Elin, from the UK, was in Hokitka for New Years Eve and so I wanted to be there to meet up with her. There is also a guy (Kevin) from Warm Showers in the town and so I left Christoph in the early evening and biked into Hokitka to meet with Kevin and stay with him, while Christoph went off into the mountains.
I had a really nice evening with Kevin and a lovely meal. He is a very intelligent and interesting man with a huge amount of mountaineering experince. It was great to talk with someone with the same interests and with a lot more knowledge than me. He has done some very serious trips in the mountains.
Kevin went to bed about 11 and I headed out into town see if I could find Elin (she had not received my email in time and I did not have her mobile number at that point). I went to the main pub in town and got a drink an saw the New Year in with the New Zealand locals. It was fun. I was pretty sober and most other people were not :-) It was unfortunate that I did not manage to find Elin.
After New Year had hit and I had phoned friends and family at home, I headed off out of town to go and visit the glow worms (Kevin had recommended a trip). I am really glad I did. The area is accessed via a short path which then takes you to an enclosed area with cliffs on 3 sides, trees on the top and then the sky above. In the dark it is awesome as there where thousands and thousands of glow worms lighting up the cliff walls and then there is a layer of over hanging trees and then the stars above. In parts it is not clear where the glow worms finish and the stars begin. A beautiful place to sit and ponder the existence of life and think about the year ahead. I really enjoyed being there on my own just being.
Happy New Year Everyone!
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