Day 16. 30th September 2010 Franz Josef to Greymouth

Franz Josef Glazier

Waterfalls at the Glazier

Info about the Glazier

Township Of Franz Josef

We were up early for our potential flight to the Franz Josef Glazier, a real record for us, but sadly the weather didn’t co-operate so our flight was grounded. The Helicopter folks didn’t think that the weather would improve. We then sought out a mechanic, because our hire car had developed a strange rattle. We had checked the oil and other fluids prior to the mechanic visit. However Murphy’s Law was in action, and he couldn’t hear anything.  He rechecked the fluids and had a look and thought maybe a stone had got got caught somewhere but didn’t think it was serious as there was no apparent overheating.   We returned back through town and went out to have a look at Franz Josef Glacier.  It was drizzling rain and quite cold and miserable and a little disappointing.  We were expecting to see snow and ice and saw rocks and ground rubble in a creek bed.  Current seasons meant more rain and less snow.  There were plenty of indicators and signs telling us where the glacier had been over the years.   We headed back to the car and drove back into town to look over a gift shop we had seen and have a hot drink.  We also could not resist what turned out to be some yummy pies for an early lunch.  

A Park on the way north

The girls panning at Ross

After hot drinks and our pies we set off for Greymouth.  It was interesting how the country side changed as we progressed up the coast.  Part of that was probably about 40km inland and was quite lush and rainforesty in parts.  Aas we drove along the coast line it was quite open and very windswept in parts.  There were very few towns along the coast and mainly quite small.  There were still plenty of lakes but they were generally smaller.  The creeks, however, as they were converging to meet the sea were often very wide and very fast.  We also spotted many waterfalls both between Franz Josef and Greymouth as well as Wanaka and Haast.  Most could be seen quite clearly in the distant mountains.  There were also many smaller ones on the side of the road.  We stopped at many recreation areas, which were often on the lakes or creeks.  One amazing stop we made was in the middle of the afternoon at a town called Ross.  It turned out to be old gold mining town and gave us the opportunity to pan for gold.  So for $12NZ we bought our own gold pan and walked to a spot that we could pan for gold.  In case you were wondering we will be returning home as planned, we didn’t find enough gold to retire.  We weren’t able to give the panning the time it needed but believe we did find some flecks of gold which gave the girls a thrill.  More time, more patience and better weather would have been good.  These small towns seem to embrace their history and display it well in ‘real life situations’.  We have seen several on our travels.  Oamaru, Old  Cromwell,  Arrowtown and Ross stand out.  Dotted around Ross are old gold mining relics, houses etc all well tagged with appropriate historical information.

Wild ocean at Hokitika

Town clock at Hokitika

We moved on and arrived in Hokiitika.  We would have liked to potter around a little more here but time had slipped by during  trip and it was starting to rain again.  What was supposed to be a 2 ½ -3 hour trip, with all the stops and gold panning took closer to 5 hrs.  It was nice knowing that the actual travel time was so short and we could take our time.  In Hokitika we did go to the beach to have a look.  It was wild and murky and very blowy and cold.  During WWII the New Zealand defence forces set up four Pill Boxes as part of their defence.  One was at the beach where we stopped.  We left Hokitika and drove the 30 min to Greymouth.  On our way we spotted Shanty Town.  We now have tickets as it is meant to be working gold mining town and well worth the visit.  We will see that tomorrow as well as a visit to Punakaiki and the Pancake rocks.  Apparently the Pancake Rocks should be particularly good due to the weather.  Hopfully for once the will be on our side.