Our first afternoon there, Sonja & I decided to walk around the town to check everything out. Well, our walk didn't take long--we had explored the entire city in no more than 20 minutes haha. We got back to our hostel after our 'long' walk, looked at each other like, and I said "Well...I guess that was the town...it's going to be an interesting next few days." =) As it turned out though, Franz Josef was really great, despite its small geographical area. The first evening we were there, we went on a short 30-minute 'glow worm' walk through the woods. The girl from the office of the hostel gave us a huge torch (flashlight), and Sonja & I headed out to the path that had the glow worms. We were joined by a young English couple. They didn't have a proper light source, so Sonja & I became their tour guides. Plus, by that time, Sonja & I had quite a bit of glow worm experience & knowledge, so we were actually able to give them an informative tour =) We didn't see a a ton of glow worms, but it was nice walk nonetheless.
The next day, I had an adventure-filled day doing a half-day hike on the Franz Josef glacier. When I had signed up for it the day before, they told me that I'd have to do the 12:30 afternoon hike since all the morning slots were taken. As it turned out, I was quite lucky because it rained all morning the day of the hike & cleared up right at about 12:00, just before my hike---perfect timing! Sonja didn't want to do the hike since it was expensive & she does after all see quite a bit of ice in Finland. As I have lived in Florida for almost 20 years, I was thrilled to go hiking on a glacier! So, I walked over to the place and got signed in. Then, they fitted me with some waterproof pants, wooly socks, hiking boots, a lovely fanny pack filled with clamps for our boots & a nice waterproof jacket. After everyone was geared up, we headed out on a 10-minute bus ride to the beginning of our walk. Oh, and guess who I passed by when I was walking toward the glacier on my guided tour? It was mine & Sonja's 'friend' whose name we don't know but who we have run into in the past 3 cities haha. Anyway, the glacier itself was in a kind of remote area outside of town. So, the next part of the day involved walking through some lush forest area for about 25 minutes, then across this open rocky terrain for another 35 minutes until we reached the edge of the glacier. Then, our guides told us that they would be separating us out into 2 groups: a group that wanted a more difficult day on the glacier & one that wanted a more chilled out day. I chose the more chilled out option. So our group of 20 became a group of 9 & off we went.
Before we started our hike on the actual glacier, we sat down and attached our clamps to the bottoms of our boots. Then, our guide gave us some pointers on how to walk properly on the ice so as not to fall on our faces. He also told us to follow in single file behind him exactly. When one of our group members asked if anyone has died on the glacier, he said "Oh yeah." I figured maybe one person a year or something. Nope...."It happens every few months, but it's not usually people on the guided tours." Comforting, eh? Nonetheless, we made our way up, down, around, and over really deep cracks in the ice, etc. Our guide carried a pick axe with him, which I assumed was just for looks. As it turned out, I was wrong; he used it to make 'stairs' in the ice for all of us to more easily walk on the glacier on some of the more steep areas--pretty sweet. The glacier changes constantly, so it is completely different from day to day. There weren't any tunnels the day we went, but we did find two small caves that had formed in the ice. I crawled into one & got some pictures. We stopped for a snack break at one point as well & I indulged on a big brownie I had brought with me =) It was such a fantastic day! The people in my group were all really friendly too & offered to take pictures of me since I was on my own, so that was really nice.
After our time on the ice, we untied our clamps & put them back in our fanny packs. Then, we made our way back down the mountain & across the rocky open area toward the lush forests again. The walk back was really nice too--so refreshing! Later that evening, Sontsa & I spoiled ourselves in the glacier hot pools. Actually...my entrance into the pools was included in the price of my ice hiking ticket, so I was sweet. Sontsa didn't really want to pay a lot to go to the hot pools, but I really wanted some company while I was there. So, she & I walked down there and I asked the lady if Sontsa could just come in & hang out with me without getting in the pools. The local Kiwi lady said, "Well, if you come back quicky, I could find you to be 16.." We went back to the hostel, got our togs (bathing suits), and speed-walked back to the hot pools; the lady rang Sontsa in at the child's price, which was half the price of an adult. She was awesome! The hot pools were sooooooo relaxing! They were surrounded by jungle-like trees, with different soft colored lights everywhere in the pools and in the trees--purples, pinks, blues, and greens. Great finish to an exciting day! Sonja & I stayed in Franz Josef for 2 nights total, then were heading to Wanaka. The second night in our dorm room at the hostel, we met Inbar from Israel who was heading to Wanaka the next day as well. The three of us were lucky enough to catch a ride with two American girls Wendy & Christina from Portland, Oregon. The girls were heading to Queenstown, which was just after Wanaka. So, they dropped the three of us off right outside Wanaka, they headed toward Queenstown, and Sontsa, Inbar & I walked into the town center to get a hostel. Wanaka was wonderful, and will have to be a separate blog. I'll work on that one soon!
Cheers,
Ash
No comments:
Post a Comment