Quick, get to da choppa! - Franz Josef, New Zealand
Franz Josef, New Zealand
"Go, Now, Get to da choppa!", was the cry from the large Maori, prompting five figures, arrayed in blue winter jackets and wooly hats, to run nervously towards the shiny machine whirring impatiently 20 paces away. Bending double as they ran the intrepid adventurers were taking no chances that the rotor, spinning invisibly 6 feet above them would give them a free haircut. We buckled up, put on the head sets and the door was barely closed before the signal was given and the bird took to flight. It was amazing to see the views of the mountains and the sea. The ride wasn't as smooth as we had anticipated as we bumped up and down, buffeted by the wind and flying perilously close, in our opinion, to the sides of the valley, but in such a narrow valley a one way system is in place. As we rounded the lower slopes of the mountain the Franz Josef Glacier could be seen, lying like an icy finger between the steep rock mountain sides. Landing on the ice the cold air was like a slap in the face from a cold wet trout. We quickly got our crampons on while our fingers still functioned! What had proceeded this exciting journey and adventure on the ice was a marathon in itself. Arriving in Franz Josep we visited the tour shop to check on our booking for an 'Ice Explorer' tour the following day. Good job we did as the scatty youth behind the counter could not find our booking and when she did, discovered that it had been created then deleted! We were duly booked for a trip the following day. Nothing had been able to take off that day due to the low cloud which formed an impenetrable ceiling above the town. We parked up in a free camp by a river 20 Km away, noting the signs saying there was a 2%252525 chance that the protective river walls would fail this year and the whole area would be flooded. The rain started, the clouds got lower and it did not bode well but we were 98%252525 sure we would be ok. Next day the rain was gone but the clouds were not! We were disappointed but not surprised to be told flying was not possible as the mountains were shrouded in cloud so the glacier tour was cancelled. We moved our booking to the following day glad we had time to stick around, unlike some others. What to do for the rest of the day? It was about time we saw a wild Kiwi, but they are very hard to see so we found another way. A charity seeks to keep the population from being wiped out by taking eggs and hatching them, then releasing the Kiwis back into the wild at one year old. They are then much more likely to survive. Kiwis would be extinct but for the efforts that are made to trap and kill the predators introduced to the country by settlers, namely stoats and possums. These still take the majority of eggs but the scheme has helped the local population of Kiwis to increase slightly. In the dimly lit bush environment we tried to see the little characters but it wasn't easy. We could hear them shuffling about in the undergrowth and as our eyes adjusted we eventually spotted one, then another. The youngest were in a separate large enclosure and one in particular wasn't hard to spot as he seemed hyper active running around the undergrowth, jumping on the other Kiwis who were foraging for food. They were not impressed and made it clear he wasn't going to get a game of tag from them. They are cute and so absorbed with their rooting around looking for grubs they seemed unaware of our presence. It was cool to see them. We then went to chill out by the lake, enjoying soup with a view before popping back to see the kiwis again, then deciding to take advantage of the free entry to the thermal hot pools which you get when booking the ice tour. The natural pools vary from 36 to 40 degrees and having free camped for the last 5 days we appreciated the showers as much as the pools. Please note we showered before and after and have washed thoroughly every day :) Day three and all but the mountain tops are visible, the tour proceeds, yippee! It took a while to get used to the crampons, rather than stepping gingerly on the solid ice you have to dig the crampons in confidently and walk on. We soon warmed up as we climbed the frozen waves of ice, pulling ourselves up steep ice steps sometimes with the aid of a climbing rope. We were shown ice sinks, warned as we edged closer to the hole that if we were to fall down it, we wouldn't be found for about 20 years when we would appear at the end of the glacier! We were then taken to the death sink, which is so deep that when ice chunks or rocks are thrown down it you can't hear them hitting the bottom! It wasn't coned off, we were allowed to peer over it, it's your own responsibility to keep safe in New Zealand. The attitude of our guide (a Kiwi) contrasted sharply to the guide behind us who was English, the English guide was constantly reminding his group to be careful, pointing out every danger and fussing like a mother hen. "It's cool to go down there, ay..." our guide 'Duck' (so named because he broke his ankle on his very first tour) told us, motioning to an ice cave with a rope to help you descend into it, "You'll have a surprise". Gingerly we entered along with a girl from New York, unsure what to expect. "Groups of 3 or 4 at a time, hold the rope", was all we knew as we descended into the darkness. Totally enclosed in ice, with only enough space to walk, crab like, we edged our way through the cave. The icy melt water ran down the sides and poured from the roof down our necks, glad of our hoods we pressed on using the rope to help in our decent and admiring the blue colour of the cave walls, just like the replica we had seen in the museum the day before, but for real. At the bottom of the steep slope there was a tunnel, not knowing what we were going to see John boldly stepped forward, promptly finding himself knee deep in icy cold water. Rhianwyn tried digging in her crampons on the walls of the tunnel, but the walls were so slippery with water and the angle so awkward that she gave up and walked through the water too. As we came to the end of the tunnel we saw that there was a hole to the surface some 10m above, again the colour was a beautiful icy blue and white. The return journey was easier, we knew what to expect, although the slope back up was hard work, we definitely didn't need the soaking beanie and gloves after! Our smiles were infectious as we passed the next nervous caver's from our group, 3 Taiwanese girls. As we waited for them to emerge we heard screaming and laughter, they had discovered the water! Before we left the English guide arrived with his group and told them step by step what to expect. Safer? Probably, but as much fun? Definitely not. Taking photos whilst being at the back of the group is a dangerous thing, especially on a glazier full of unseen crev**************s. Sadly our guide didn't realise we had stopped for a photo and carried on with the group. Turning a corner we were faced with 3 possible paths. Stepping cautiously and shouting out we decided on what looked like the most probable (hoping not to fall down a hole to be found 20 years later) and as we came over a frozen wave we saw the group happily making their way back towards the chopper. Joining them we sat down to wait our turn to fly back. Taking off our crampons our guide said he would check them before we put them into our bags. The English guide leading the group behind us turned up and warned the group about the dangers of taking off the crampons, and the fact that ice becomes more slippery underfoot. We smiled at the stark contrast of the north vs south hemisphere attitudes towards risk assessment and management. The excitement for Rhianwyn was topped when she was selected to sit in the front of the helicopter with the pilot - excitement at the prospect of the view, not the proximity to the pilot, she hastens to add! John however was wedged in the back beside our guide and an English guy who has a fear of helicopters! Although the back of Rhianwyn's head is a beautiful thing to behold, in her opinion, it proved too thick for John to see through and too big for him to see round so he couldn't fully appreciate the breathtaking views both of the valley and proximity to the opposite cliff face from the one we came up beside. Normally afraid of heights Rhianwyn loved it and has decided that she wants to be a helicopter pilot. Back on the ground we went back to the lake to relax. New Zealand has really felt like a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively speaking. Backpacking is actually quite hard work and to be able to unpack for a prolonged period is great. In fact we love NZ so much we have delayed our flight to Chile by 10 days and will now have a sunny Christmas, maybe on a beach and maybe eating burgers rather than a turkey.