Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers Part 1 (more pics to follow with better internet connection)

Internet in NZ is expensive and difficult to find!  In NZ internet services charge by the amount of data transfered, so surfing the web ends up being really expensive.  Because of this, I started writing many of my posts a little while back and have been trying to upload whenever I can find the internet, but I just will not be able to upload all of my pics.  I decided to upload most of the story and a few pics as I go along, but I will try to upload the rest later.

We had 3 main goals of sights to see along the West Coast: the Fox Glacier, the Franz Josef Glacier and the Punakaki or pancake rocks. Being the glacier fanatic that I am, I could not pass up an opportunity to see temperate glaciers. What is better? On the west coast you can enjoy the trees, ferns, and other greenery right alongside the glaciers!

Enroute to the glaciers we passed through the town of Haast.  Apparently there is more to the town than we saw (a gast station, small store, and a motel).  However, we really just wanted to take a break from driving and spend a few minutes on the beach.

My mom trying to hide from the cold winds on Haast Beach

The drive out toward the coast through the mountains was simply stunning. Everywhere we looked we spotted these gorgeous waterfalls. They seemed to peak out through the trees on the mountains for a short while before the water plunged down into some hidden pool or river. Some of the waterfalls were so close that they spattered out into the road!

The walk out to the glaciers was a bit amusing. Yes I know they are rather commercialized but there was literally a packed path almost all the way out to the glacier. I am used to traveling for hours over really rough terrain via hiking, boat, and/or helicopters in order to arrive at the mouth of a glacier. Okay, it felt a little like cheating. However, I was really happy to get to share the experience with my mom and show her a little bit of the majesty of these amazing features I have traveled to the ends of the earth to study.  The walk out to the glaciers was also lined with gorgeous waterfalls. Here are acouple:


Although there are many of glaciers in the mountains in the Southern Alps of the Westland National Park of the South Island's West coast (I believe it is something like over 100 glaciers), the Fox (Te Moeka o Tuawe in Maori) and Franz Joseph Glaciers (Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere in Maori) are among the largest and most accessible.  The Fox Glacier is currently 13 km long and the Franz Joseph is a whopping 20 km long!  The area is fairly well controlled and regulated in terms of where you can go (unless of course you spring for one of the many tours).  However, via the free tromping path you can get fairly close to the glacier's mouth.  It made for quite a few good pictures!

Okay, so sadly my internet is just waaay too slow to upload the pictures.  I am trying to use this USB 3G antenna that my mom purchased for internet.  However, the signal is so low, it just won't upload the pictures (yes, AND movies Jeevan). I will have to get back to you with the glacier pictures (and movies) later.  Sorry! Stay tuned for more!!!