A Way Cool Place....

Franz Josef Glacier on a fine day.

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.co.nz/2017/02/a-tale-of-two.html

Missed it by that much.

From Arthur's Pass

Good night!

Jeff

A Tale of two...

Trails. 

It's all about the weather. This is the dilemma of hiking in Westland National Park. Fox and Franz Josep glaciers are very approachable and accessible for sightseeing. That is if you don't mind the sweat labor involved in getting to a viewpoint. I don't mind as long as I score a BIG Ohh Ahhh scene. I batted .500 for the two. 

At the trailhead for Mount Fox, there's a Warning sign. It reads: “this trail has limited track formation and steep grades. It is suitable for fit, experienced, and properly equipped people.”

The route is a total grunt hand-over-hand full body workout. It's 3,800 feet of up in a scant 2.4 miles. There's mud too, and not the exfoliating your skin kind. This is ankle deep goo capable of sucking your trail runner right off your foot. Like it did to me. OY! 

Ahh! But the views at the top on a Kiwi-speak "Fine" day was worth the gallon of schvitz (Yiddish for perspiring profusely). 

See for yourself. 

Mount Cook is out there somewhere. (Sir Edmund Hillary trained on Mount Cook in preparation for his historic Everest accent). It's  covered in White Death/ice  and way too cold for me. 

Onto Franz Josef for hike numero dos. The Weather Channel was predicting a mix of clouds and sun for my mellower 12 mile RT hike up to Alex Knob point. They lied. I left in a foggy mist and returned in a foggy mist. There were no glacier sightings. There were no scenery sightings unless you count walking through another dense, dreary and gloomy temperate rain forest as scenic. By now, I'm sort of over this particular ecosystem. I'm sure it's a whole lot cheerier to tramp through on sunny days, but I wouldn't know. 

For the record, I've been in Franz Josef town for two days. I've seen a glacier for about fifteen seconds. The other sights are heaps of green covered mounds that are shaped like ice cream scoops. (Maybe glacial moraines?) All that's missing is a few dollops of chocolate sauce to make them look sort of edible. 

Mother Nature works in strange ways. 

Next stop Arthur's Pass National Park and maybe some "fine" weather,

Good night,

Jeff

My Mojo Returns...

for a few days.

I've heard about the wonders of Wanaka for awhile. My sources of information were Department of Conservation officers to fellow wanderers. "The town lies in a rain shadow region. It's different than a lot of New Zealand places." I liked those words-rain shadow. They went on to say it's a cool town with plenty of hiking nearby. With a "Why Not?" Attitude, I booked four nights of pricey accommodation close to the Hub Bub of this Burg of 6,500 residents. 

Upon my arrival, I discovered Wanaka was gearing up for a full/half Triathlon to be held on the morrow. Cyclists with determined looks and shaved legs sped past on five-$-digit-figure bicycles. Others were swimming laps in the massive lake. Many were seen trail running along the shoreline while glancing at their stopwatches. Amazing Type AAA athletes in action-before the event! I didn't envy them.

I strolled over to the DOC office and scored enough hiking info to occupy me during my stay. 

So that's what I did. I hiked in the early morning to tops of fine mountains devoid of the

that bothersome temperate rain forest. (A real nuisance for views). The climbs were steep on well trod tracks. Warm sunshine was the prevailing weather. It felt and acted like summer. I wore shorts, sunscreen, tank tops, sunglasses and a huge grin. I was feeling my Mojo again. 

The rest of my days were spent, drinking coffee or beer (depending on the hour) while gazing out at the mountainous scenery. Lake Wanaka's waters changed colors from dawn to dusk. It made for great photo ops. Active people ran, biked and swam throughout the day. They even had muscles. It felt like being in a Colorado mountain town minus the smell of Ganga. I loved the place. It felt sort of like Home. For the first time since I've been in NZ, I seriously thought, "I can stay here for awhile and it wouldn't drive me nuts." 

In a few years when I return to the Land of Kiwis, I'll do just that. 

From cloudy, foggy but not cold Fox Glacier Town,

Cheers!

Jeff

PS. A few of these photos are from nearby Mount Aspiring National Park.