Frans Josef, glaciers and spa pool

22-24 April

I woke up early to the sound of rain pouring down on the canvas, and when I looked out I realized that most of it was coming from the leafy crown of the oak.

Maybe my choice of location wasn’t that smart of me.

I grab the bare essentials and head to the kitchen. I sit down in the same spot I was in last night and prepare my breakfast, I’ll make coffee later.

Google’s weather forecast isn’t a pleasant read for today, drizzle and cold. The sun is far away. But tomorrow and the days after will be better.

I don’t leave Franz Josef and the campsite until around 11 am. The clouds hang low and it’s a five-kilometer climb up the hill, 250 meters.

If I felt cold when I started, it was something else now. At a parking lot at the top, I stopped to take off my jacket and cycle in just my CK-Örnen orange cycling jersey.

Now I have a steep ride down. Many hairpin bends and the road is still wet so I try to take it easy. The surroundings are green, bushes, trees and vegetation. The ferns are huge, some of them meters high. Looks like a rainforest.

From the top of the last hairpin bend down towards the single-lane bridge I release the brakes and feel how the wind cools down considerably and it feels refreshing.

About a hundred meters from the bridge that goes over the Waikukupa River and in a left turn I hear a bang, at first I think it is from a gunshot but I realize when I feel the bike wobble that the rear tire tube has exploded.

It was just lucky that I didn’t end up off the road and the deep slope down towards the river, at least 40-50 meters.

No spare tubes and more than 15 km to the nearest village, Frans Josef.

I don’t have to steer the bike very far before a couple with a small bus stops and asks if I need help…

– Do you need help? asks the guy driving?
– Yes, that would be incredibly kind of you, flat tire and I’m out of my last spare tubes.
– No problem.

He and the girl in the front seat are from Poland and they plan to vacation all over New Zealand. They bought the bus cheaply in Christchurch and plan to sell it in Auckland if they succeed, the guy says and laughs.

Franz Josef is much bigger than Fox Glacier but no bike shop or bikeworks shop either

– There is a bike repair shop in Hokitika, they told me but…
– You have to wait until after Easter.

Why didn’t I bought more tubes in Christchurch… Being wise in hindsight doesn’t help anything right now.

The Backpackers hostel had to be the solution for three days and two nights. Although now the weather has become sunnier so I can enjoy this instead.

I had to spend an extra day in Franz Josef Glacier Township because the Tuesday bus to Hokitika was fully booked for Easter.

On my second day in Franz Josef Glacier Township, I joined a group and took a bus up to one of the glaciers for a few hours of hiking.

There are more spectacular ways to get there, but they come with a hefty price tag, a helicopter flight!

The cheapest option costs 270 NZD and includes a ten-minute helicopter ride up to the glaciers, about five minutes of hiking, and then a helicopter ride back. You don’t get to see much in that short time.

There was another option that allowed a longer stay at the glaciers, two hours, but it cost at least twice as much.

It had to be the third option, and it cost 12.50 NZD. A bus and you could agree with the bus driver which return bus you wanted to take.

But before the glacier hike begins, a proper breakfast is a must.
Breakfast is provided by the hostel: muesli, cereal, bread, butter, jam, milk, and you can make your own pancakes or waffles.

The queue for the waffle iron is fifteen minutes long. How the waffles are cooked varies a lot – some like them light and thin, others more well-done and thick.

A good start to the morning, although a “full English” is far from it – but you can’t have everything.

The bus ride took just over an hour, and I promise it was very steep at times – but we made it.

The guide told us that unfortunately global warming has almost halved the size of the glacier since 2009, which could mean that it will almost be gone by 2050 – a terrible thought.

WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT HOW WE LIVE

What has taken nature and our planet tens of thousands of years to create, we are destroying in less than a century. In any case, the glacier is an incredible experience to see. The next generation may only see pictures of them – another scary thought.

When we left F.J.G. the sun was shining, but up here it is unpredictable. One minute it is sunny, the next the fog and clouds roll in. The cold is also more noticeable up here, and there are none of the annoying black mosquitoes that I encountered along the coast.

Some of the photo spots, including a glacier crevasse, we were not allowed to get closer than 25 meters due to the risk of falling in. Global warming was the reason here too.

To get the most out of the hike, it would have been ideal to rent special boots with proper ice studs, but I didn’t know they were available to rent.

After two hours of hiking through the incredible icy landscape of the glacier in slippery shoes, I took the next bus back down to F.G. and enjoyed a much-needed coffee, beer and sandwich.

There is not a single regular shop in F.J.G. – everything revolves around glaciers, helicopters and related activities. The closest thing to a regular shop is the gas station, but even there they sell camping equipment.

When I got back to the hostel I asked:

– I saw a sign outside the reception about a spa pool – is it available?

–  Yes, near your dorm,

The spa is a round building with a metal roof and the pool is a rather large hot tub for three or four people.

I lift off a large folding lid and see that the water is hot, steaming and a digital display shows 41.5 degrees. I went  back and get my colorful shorts, shower and walk with yoga-like steps the few meters over the gravel path to the pool building.

I slide into the warm water and immediately feel a pleasant warmth spread through my body. I stay in the hot pool for 45 minutes and just enjoy life,
I also notice two girls waiting outside to take over the pool.

In the evening I meet the others at the hostel to cook dinner. It’s a chaotic mix of disorder and harmony, so everything works out well in the end.

What annoys me – although it’s really pointless – is that some people always use pots and pans and then leave them unwashed on the counter while they eat.

Since there’s not an endless supply of everything, you often have to wash up after others. I must be getting old!

Later in the evening, I took a walk to the center, the gas station and grocery store are closed, but the pubs are open and buzzing with people. Apparently, hiking among the glaciers works up quite a thirst

See Yeah Later
P-G
// The Global Cyclist