Fox Glacier (no mints) to Franz Josef

17 June - The morning at Lake Paringa Campsite was bitter damp cold which gets into your fingers and makes packing the tent away hard. Was glad to get back on the bike to get the blood circulating.

After 5 miles we were pulling into a remote cafe - the only one on this stretch of road: seemed rude not to - and got chatting to Matthew. From Cumbria, he’d been working at the cafe for the last 18 months after seeing the job advertised on a backpacker info board in Auckland. He loved it - the remoteness, the pristine environment, the sense of community amongst the few who lived there. They get their post twice a week and he does his food shop in Wānaka 125 miles away. He told us the road we just cycled from Wānaka hadn’t been built until 1968, and wasn’t completely sealed until 1995.

Back on the road and the sun started to shine through the cloud cover. Some great wild mountain scenery as we crossed bridges over large braided rivers. Hit the coast at Bruce Bay where driftwood littered the huge sweep of beach. Passed a Maori burial site at Urupa and then a small Anglican Church, or at least its memorial as the original was destroyed in a cyclone in 2018. Found it very peaceful and graceful - had our lunch there.

Coming into Fox Glacier we could just see the glacier glowing brightly in the sunlight above the cloud line.

18 June - Shorter cycling day today - 22 miles compared to yesterday’s 44 - as we wanted to do a side trip to Lake Matheson in the morning, and the road over to Franz Josef consists of three big hills.

Waking to a sharp clear morning we had stunner views of Aoraki (Mt Cook: NZ’s highest mountain) and Mt Tasman. In their blazing white livery, they presented as majestic against the bluest empty sky.

We were at the lake early, a sheen of mist still burning off. Quiet of tourists, but not of the loud flotilla of honking geese. For 1.5hrs we walked around the lake taking in the changing views of the mountains reflected in the still waters - Lake Matheson is known as a photographic icon and it didn’t disappoint. Very peaceful. Very beautiful.

Three large hills later - great to look back at the road we’d travelled - we were treated to more stunning snowy mountain views: this time of Mt. Elie de Beaumont, and then the Franz Josef glacier itself. Stopping in Franz for two nights in a motel as heavy rain is forecast, and we want to see the rescue kiwis: a good chance to rest the legs.Leggi altro