28/4 - Greymouth; Hokitika;Lake Matheson;
Fox Glacier; Franz Joseph Glacier

The hotel in Greymouth, despite its overly soft bed, had a good breakfast buffet, including fresh-baked muffins, hot from the oven. After checking out, we were picked up again by Linda from Kea Tours for our trip south to Franz Joseph Glacier. Once again, the morning was a chilly 10° and overcast with a stiff wind, but once we got underway, the sun came out, the wind died and a beautiful day emerged. The tour is well-designed, with frequent stops for views and photographs. One stop was in the town of Hokitika, where we had 45 minutes for stretching our legs and shopping. We most enjoyed the glass-blowing shop with beautiful pieces that you could see being fashioned before your eyes.

After a scenic morning drive, we stopped for lunch at a nice cafe at Lake Matheson, eating outdoors on the patio and then taking a one-hour stroll through the woods to the lake.




On our hike to the lake we saw many interesting birds, as well as eels and ducks. In fact, interesting bird songs filled our trip to both New Zealand and Australia.

After lunch, we drove southward, visiting both the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers. At the Fox Glacier, we took a 30 minute walk to the base of the glacier, which we saw, to our surprise, was blue from the pressure of the ice. Like its companion, Franz Joseph,which we visited later, the Fox Glacier has been retreating for hundreds of years. Panoramic photgraphs on placards, annotated with topographic lines, illustrated the position of the glaciers in previous years, giving a dramatic illustration of how the earth has changed.


We ended our day's tour with a short climb up a hill overlooking the Franz Joseph glacier, also dramatically diminished from its extent 250 years ago.

On the drive into the town of Franz Joseph, I got a recommendation for a restaurant that turned out to be the best of our trip: The Landing, next door to our hotel. Everything about the meal was delightful: interesting decor, attentive service, small-town prices, and super food. I had greenlip mussels, a New Zealand speciality; highly recommended.

On the walk back to the hotel (the Franz Joseph Glacier Hotel), we gazed up into the crystal clear sky to see the Southern Cross embedded in the Milky Way. An awesome way to end an awesome day.