To Franz JosefOct 26, 2005
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Photo captions Later
To Franz Josef - 288 KM - 10/26/05
Today we entered NZ's southern alps. Most interesting and scenic drive of the tour to date. 28 one lane bridges, steep climbs and descents with 15 KM curves, eye candy around every turn. Snow capped peaks; alpine meadows with sheep, cattle or deer; pristine blue lakes; watefalls; moss covered forests; and that was just the first half. At "Roaring Billy Falls" we took the 20 minute walk through a beautiful woods of tree palms, ferns, large trees, and rain forest vegetation to "Whispering Billy Falls". Dry weather this spring reduced a reportedly spectacular falls to a mediocre one. On the way we talked Billy into a tree hole for a photo. Naw, no luck, he didn't get stuck.
After the hills we descended back to the western coastline with great views of rocky beaches and the Tasman Sea.
The drive was capped with a side trip to the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. Pretty dirty, but all glaciers are like sheep - dirty bottoms! Walked to a good viewpoint on Fox and all the way (1 1/2 hours) to the safety rope on Franz Josef. A great sight for those never having seen a glacier. No real comparison to Alaska glaciers though.
I took a series of photos of life developing in the rocky outfall of a glacier. Red lichen build enough neutrients for moss to start. Moss holds enough moisture and accumulating dust for small plants to take hold. Water freezes and cracks the rocks enough to hold more dust, and eventually trees get started on what once was bare vertical rock. Time to a tree cover is 100-150 years.
Arrived at the Caravan Park about dark. Interesting experience. The park was mostly gravel and closely packed much like many Alaska parks, but it was also combined with a youth hostel. Lots of college age kids on work visa's plus several small groups independently backpacking . One full tour bus load left at 7:30 am. The bar/restaurant did serve a good supper, but got louder as the evening progressed. The park was offering a free nights lodgeing, one meal, and one free drink at the bar for 4 hours of work for those needing to supplement their travel funds.
Just another big adventure!
