Wanaka, colours are calling me.......

Franz Josef glacier was a blast. I am still recovering from all the activity. I made the fatal error of waking up on the morning of our kayaking trip full of energy and fancying a run. Now, I haven’t run since we were in Raglan about a month ago and haven’t what I’d call seriously run since my triathlon which was back in September. Whatever, I thought, these love handles ain’t gonna loose themselves on their own, much to my dismay and constant prayer. It was a glorious sunny morning so I thought I’d just take a gentle jog into town and back which was about 3k. Not too taxing, or so I thought. Most of the run was in the shade from the rainforest along the roadside and relatively flat considering we are in the mountains. Made it to town with no real bother but the temperature was rapidly increasing in the morning sun. By the time I got back to the campsite I was near death! It was scorchio! Managed to not collapse when I got back to Biff and went and had a nice cool shower. We weren’t being picked up to go kayaking until 4pm so thankfully I had a fair old time to recover.

We got picked up and driven a few miles down the road to Lake Mapourika. The lake is unusual in that it isn’t a glacial lake so the water is not sparkling blue and clear. In fact the water was black. Odd, but cool as it has the effect of being an almost perfect mirror. Unfortunately the bright sunny morning had progressed into a nasty overcast day so the tops of the mountains and the glacier weren’t visible from the lake. We got all sorted and into our double kayak and shoved off into the huge lake. It was bloody hard work as the crossing was into a fairly stiff breeze and it seemed at times as if we weren’t actually moving. After some sluggish time though and some quite choppy waves we made it over to a secluded bay on the other side of the lake. Well, secluded except for our group of about 20 kayakers, a few ducks and the usual ten billion sandflies! It was beautiful though and once we got into the bay and out of the wind the mirror effect of the black water was clear to see. Our guides encouraged us down a small inlet and further into the forest. They regaled us with facts about the local wildlife and the history of the area. They also showed us a cool trick with sandflies. Apparently, when you have a sandfly biting you, if you pinch your skin either side of its head it can’t detach it’s mandibles from you and eventually explodes! I’ve yet to try the theory and am so smothered in insect repellent I doubt I’ll get the chance to give it a go very soon.

We stopped at a point on the river where there was a large pool before the guide made us kayak back down the river one by one to get a good snap of us mirrored in the lake. While we waited the rest of the group got eaten alive by sandflies. Some had managed to get into the kayaks and were attacking peoples ankles. One Swiss girl said she was desperate for socks which I misheard and blurted out to the group that I thought she was desperate for sex! Swiss people don’t have a sense of humour apparently. Our English guide thought it was pretty funny.

On the way back we hit our stride and I decided to blast the crossing back across the lake. Kate was very disgruntled by this as she couldn’t keep up with my stroke so she decided to just relax and let me bring us home. Amazingly I started to overtake some of the smaller kayaks as people started to tire. We stopped though before we got back to shore as I realised that getting in first would mean a lengthy wait for everyone else and put us at the mercy of more sandfly attacks. We also saw a nice sunset so decided to just float on the serene lake and watch it while people overtook us. Such a shame we weren’t allowed to bring cameras. Our guide had one though so got some snaps of us looking like dicks with sticks sitting in a big lilac kayak. Tight!

When we got home I thought I had probably overdone it with the kayaking as my shoulders were starting to ache a wee bit. Didn’t have much time to worry about it though as I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I struggled out of bed and was super stiff, but not in the scrotal zone. I was so tense across my back and neck. Guess I paid the price for being a bit over enthusiastic with the kayaking. We had a 10.30 glacier trip booked though so had to get ready and head into town. We got all our gear provided for us including hiking boats, crampons and a snazzy blue waterproof jacket. There were 26 of us so it was quite a big group. We got our bus, which would take us to the car park at the glacier. It was then a 3k hike to the foot of the glacier across some pretty sketchy terrain. The flat valley was treacherous with lots of rocks and unsure footing whilst the hike through the bush had steep waterfalls to climb up and slippery rocks everywhere. We made it to the foot of the glacier and were amazed at the sheer scale of it. It was immense! The guides then split us into 2 groups, an elite group and a donkey group. Kate insisted I joined her in the donkey group with all the other numpties which I wasn’t that impressed with, what with being a native West London Mountain goat. I thought the going was gonna to be tough but once we got our crampons on and actually started to walk on the ice I thought it was a doddle. Especially since the guides had conveniently cut big steps everywhere. However, the rest of our group were a bunch of right donuts. It was so bloody slow! The only thing that kept me sane was watching the old 55-year-old granny from Switzerland hobble and nearly fall at every opportunity. There was also a simple Australian guy in front of Kate who I swear had a satellite delay between his brain and his feet. He was shocking! It was almost as if someone had removed his feet and attached delicate Christmas tree baubles which he was scared to break to his ankles instead! I had a suspicion he was blind in one eye too as his depth perception was way off. He tripped up nearly every large step and had to sit down to descend tiny steps. Total nightmare! The glacier itself was awesome though and I’m gutted that we didn’t go for the full day experience and make it higher up into the really blue parts of the glacier. I managed to sway my disappointment though by putting glacier ice down Kates back which surprisingly she didn’t find very funny. Overall the hike was over 6 hours and I was pretty beat by the time we got back to Biff and cracked open a well earned beer. Kates blisters are a sight to behold whereas, I as per usual, have avoided them.

The glacier at Franz Josef was stunning. I am loving the south Island so much more than the north. The scenery is just beyond amazing and I am running out of superlatives for it all. Everything on the south Island is just so much bigger and more dramatic. We left the glacier this morning and drove all the way to Wanaka. It was our longest drive yet, at around 300km, but also I think one of our most scenic as we took the Haast pass through the Mt. Aspiring National park. We stopped along the way at Lake Matheson and got amazing snaps of Mt. Cook, NZs largest mountain, reflected in the black lake. The scenery was pretty special but I was truly blown away when we got to Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. The Lakes were perfect azure and looked crazy nice with all the earthy yellows, browns and greens of the surrounding hills and mountains. But it is the autumnal bloom of the trees that truly make this area unique. There are lots of ‘British’ trees here such as beech, sycamore and horse chestnut. It also helped that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Abso-titty fucking-lutely stunning!

Wanaka itself is a tiny but great little town. We stopped for lunch and a quick wander around the shops before making our way up to our campsite. When we arrived they informed us that we were the only people booked here for the night and had the run of the spa and sauna. Sweet! So I spent a fair old chunk of the afternoon soothing my aching body in the hot tub and the sauna. I debated getting naked as we were the only people here but decided against it just in case a large German woman appeared and saw my twig and giggle berries. I’m sure she’d turn away laughing shouting "Sehr klein! Ist sehr klein." Not sure what we will do in Wanaka as there aren’t that many activities which can’t be done in Queenstown. We’ll probably just use the time to recover before getting all crazy again when we get to Queenstown and hopefully our home for the winter.

I’m really starting to miss everyone from home. I’ve been away for nearly 2 months now which is the longest time I’ve ever been away. New Zealand doesn’t feel like it is on the other side of the world either but to quote the Kaiser Chiefs "oh my god I can’t believe it I’ve never been this far away from home!" It’s mainly at night when I am alone with my thoughts that they unsurprisingly drift all the way to home, and to the people I love. I really can’t describe how much I am missing you guys. You know who you are! I know though that you are on the other end of a phone though if I need a fix and I apologise that I probably don’t ring you enough. Having no reception for the 4 days I was in Franz Josef were purgatory and I was constantly worried that I would miss a text or call. Hopefully when I settle in Queenstown I’ll have a bit more time to call and tell you how much I miss you and that I think of you always. Even when I’m relaxing in a hot tub after a hard days sight seeing.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the blog and haven’t tired of it yet. Chat soon.

Peace

D

xxxx