Gillespies Beach Campsite

Freedom camping is not allowed in Franz Josef Glacier National Park, which basically covers all of Southwestern NZ. And the narrow strip of land between mountains and ocean almost doesn't have any campsites. Just Franz Josef town and Fox Glacier town have "resorts" where we could have an unpowered campsite (aka parking spot), for $30. We decided to take our chances at the only rural campsite, a 30km gravel driveway to the ocean. It was probably one of our best decisions. We were warned about an incoming storm and swell of up to 3m. If it hadn't been for a lack of a more convenient campsite, we probably would have missed it.

Just on the other side of the dunes, a beach of smooth pebbles stretched endlessly in both directions. We watched huge waves crashing onto the beach, sitting just outside the reach of the white wash. The sun was setting where land met ocean, and behind us the mountains were lit up a soft hue.

After watching for a while, Mats went down to the water's edge. The waves were intimidating. The occasional big wave sent a flood of water and pebbles against your ankles. But the rush of getting close, skipping some flat rocks, and outrunning the waves was great. The best part was getting down low, and as the waves exploded, "doing the wave" alongside it. The spray of the breaking waves seemed to hover in slow motion in front of the setting sun. Ahh..

That night, Mats dreamed of waves. We could hear the pebbles rolling as the sea retreated, followed by one huge wave after another cracking open on the rocks. With each wave, his hands shot up in the air, "doing the wave". Haha what a rush!Read more