after our tub & rag showers in the freezing cold, our 6 dollar, or free campsite and crazy funnel spiders - we were ready to rough it. then we got to franz josef and got a whole different side of camper vanning.
we stopped from hokitika along the way a lot - so many scenic stops, all worthy of pulling off the road for. the roads by the way are so well kept its amazing - they are small, but smooth and clean. however - with great roads means constant roadwork - so you are always running into that and they make you stop. and wait. a. long. long time. till you can drive again. but the great thing is everyone is just hopping out of their cars taking pictures b/c anywhere you look deserves a snap. after some cheese and crackers on a little dock at a lake on they way we got to franz josef. an awesome little ski town - and by little i mean no more than a block along the main hwy - we stopped at the visitor center to get some info drove the block up and down and checked out the couple campsites to see where we should stay. well they all had beautiful sites, a kitchen for everyone to use, common room, game room, bbq, spa (private and public), hot showers, and an awesome bar next door with "backpacker happy hour specials" with stone and timber walls and outdoor and indoor fireplaces - all for a whopping $30 a night. wow - campervanning just got so much better for me you have no idea. we pulled into our site which looked like a rainforest - cooked up some bacon and chicken sandos, had a drink and then headed over to the spa - why not?! we sat in the spa, looked at the stars and rested up for the day tomorrow of glaciers down the road and came back to our site for a quick hot shower and awesome night sleep. the only other thing worth mentioning here is most all of this was done with our headlamps on. we. looked. sexy. Please see photo below.
the next day was full of glacier walks, hand holding, stopping for snacks and thinking, gawking at the huge mountains we were walking inbetween, and feeling so small in such a big world. when you walk in between these huge tree covered mountains, waterfall after waterfall and you see the fog sitting so low and so still you feel a tiny sense of what it might have felt like back in the dinosaur days. its just that cool. after our hike to the franz josef glacier and appreciation for it (but growing appreciation for poreto moreno) we drove over to the next town to see the Fox glacier - b/c we had the time, and when another glacier is around the corner you go see it. The turns were a bit windy so col took over the driving for team murphy, and we walked the next hike loving how close we got to get to this glacier. Col explained the way glaciers work to me, and we saw chunks of them fall off right in front of us - it was so fun.
later that night we cooked up some yummy (and strange) lentil soup, then headed over to the fire place filled bar to treat ourselves to a sundae. it was awesome, and i couldnt have been happier with ice cream, a comfy fireplace, and my bearded mountain man (yea that beard is getting out of control). our night turned into a big one trying a few more glass of the local beer and vino - while we shook our tail feathers to fun music, and watched young kids really shake their tail feathers while enjoying the night with an All Blacks rugby game in the background. we had so much fun pretending to be young again.
needless to say - we loved franz josef. it was such a beautiful town, and so fun to be able to hike 2 glaciers in 1 day. however - it somehow stole one of my new custom nike running shoes, colins favorite and much needed waterproof jacket, both our toothbrushes and toothpaste. we've got no clue where those things eneded up. we now have a love hate relationship with that place. till next time franz josef, till next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment