Tramping to Franz Josef Glacier

Well, no one ever said we like doing things the easy way, though you might, perhaps, say that we like doing things the fun way. Yet again, we find ourselves hiking through a ceaseless, steady rain, crossing a subalpine temperate rainforest in search of fine mountain vistas. Only this time, the ground is so over-saturated that we basically just walked up a riverbed for the past three hours (it has rained mostly nonstop for three straight days). That is on top of the dozen or so actual runoff streams we had to ford, some of which were running a little fast/deep for people who don't exactly have long legs. BUT, as Nick is always reminding, hiking is about physical challenge, mental fortitude, and the view from the top. And this hike achieved all three; instead of viewing the Franz Josef Glacier from the bottom near the parking lot (where there is a paved path), we hiked to the Roberts Point Viewing Platform. We were advised against a longer or higher hike due to the low cloud ceiling today. Let's just say, it was worth it.

Rachel is also excited to add that we saw an antelope/deer type animal prancing in the stream, presumably thrilled that the three-plus week drought is over. He was having a grand old time!

P.S. Internet in New Zealand has been hard to come by and uniformly terrible, so we'll have pictures for you all from our adventures by the time we get to Japan. Stay tuned!Read more