MAKING MORE SPACE IN MY HEART FOR QUEENSTOWN -
After chinwagging in my mixed dorm with a female from Amsterdam who was also doing some solo sojourning, I stepped out for a walkie to the pier. And what a handsome night it was! The chill was akin to icicles stabbing my skin; if ever there was a time to wear thermals, it was *then*.. thanks for the cheapos, Warehouse!! Hey world, get a load of the tacos from Taco Medic; they're unequivocally tasty. I didn't have any trouble tucking into The Producer and Kentuckyman for my dining enjoyment.
A MINOR PANIC ATTACK AND SWEATY PALMS -
It was terrifying to be in a cable car, dangling up Bob's peak as I screamed, yelped and flinched - all of which made it less magical. You can't put a price on fear but the Skyline Gondola extracted $35 from my mitts which is expensive for what it is. Subconscious thoughts were planted in my mind that this should be romantic but I was on my tod and had to be coaxed to ride back down via Facebook. I would love to action replay my shrieks as I'd panicked that I'd plummet to the rocks.
Queenstown sparkles below as I rode up the cliff and when I reached the top, the purty view made the dread worth my while. The entire town looks stunning in the black of night at 2500ft above sea level and 456 metres high. It's hard not to be mesmerised when looking out at a gleaming panorama of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu while sipping on a 'meh' glass of hot chocolate, Such bliss to sit in the warmth of an elegant lounge and then check out the Jelly belly, bean art - like the masterpiece of Frodo - comprising over 17,000 gourmet, jelly beans and requiring painstaking precision.
I made it to the bottom of the gondola without being harmed but I was not chill! Patagonia Ice cream was waiting for me - their dark chocolate with macadamias is a winner. I love Patagonia but hate that it's bad for my health as I want to eat it all the time! I had to continue the tradition of sampling Remarkables Fudge while in town as their fudge blows all other fudge out of the water.
The next morning greeted me with spectacular scenery I'd not seen in daylight, having arrived there in the eve the previous day. Brilliant mountain ranges were sprinkled with powdered snow but still it refused to flurry down or lay. My bus driver gave a running commentary of everything we passed for 4 hours straight, practically; I couldn't block him out and the interrupting of sleep made me grumpy. No one wanted the terrible dialogue less than I.
I appreciated the photo stop in frosted Wanaka, a blanket of snow iced the mountain tops as far as the eye could see. This made it more picture perfect! Thunder Creek Falls was another rest break so we could snap the 96 metre high waterfall in Mt Aspiring National Park as it tumbles into the Haast River. Our bus group also had some downtime at a Salmon Farm and Café where they breed the salmon in tanks and can be fed if you feel so compelled. It was crazy rainy and the chocolate brownies inside were screaming 'Rianne!' Its raspberry was the 'cherry' on top so to speak and the brownie was 'moist' in an overwhelmingly, happy way or so Mezza Berry would critique.
WE BRITS ARE MADE OF TOUGHER STUFF -
I scored a solo, VIP guided tour of Fox Glacier's, Glacier Valley terminal walk as the other wussies booked on all cancelled on account of the sky tipping it down. However, I am an 'expert' in resilience out in the fearsome outdoors; so I am! Chen Chen, my guide, had me kitted out in waterproofs which was just as well as I don't love being drenched through so much. As per usual, the boots were too large for my hobbit feet and they'd given me the child size.
All surrounding roads were closed to stop the public accessing any tracks or trails on the valley for it was too dangerous to hike without an experienced guide in such precarious conditions. Nobody is actually taken out onto the ice on the valley walk because the glacier has receded back so far, making it less accessible. Lots of gates had to be unlocked to grant us entry so it was like the valley had been opened especially for ME!!! That was pretty cool :)
THIS MADE FOR ONE OF MY ALL TIME, HAPPIEST, TRIP MOMENTS -
Despite having to tackle mist, slippery terrain and sloshy mud, I was too busy having a brilliant time to care about the onslaught of raindrops hammering down. We had to cross streams with immense care as the waters had flash flooded treacherously and the levels rose higher than they would normally be. Waterfalls had formed from the rainfall but the waters are always faster-flowing than its 'neighbour' Franz Josef.
Fox Glacier Fast Facts:
1) It is named after a former, New Zealand Prime Minister
2) A compacted ice depth of 100 metres can be reached
3) Four alpine glaciers feed Fox, falling 2600 metres
4) Fox has drastically decreased in size and is predicted to lose a further 5kms by the end of the century.
I'LL HOLD THESE MEMORIES CLOSE TO MY HEART -
Rock falls the size of fridges, made it all the more adventurous but scarily the vertical, schist rock walls are over 1 kilometre tall. I wish I cold put some footage on the blog so you could hear the thunder-like sound and understand why that made me somewhat fearful of the glacial territory we were treading. I'm repulsive in all the pics but I was concentrating on the beauty of the rainforest background and the greenest vegetation.
Suicide Alley, a steep, rock fall zone which is 400 metres uphill could have been a hellacious nightmare as unsettling signs warn you not to rest in the areas where the risk of rocks tumbling is greater. Trust me to be that plonker whose shoelaces came undone in one of those spots! I need my energetic youth returned as I was breathing like an asthmatic at the top. Even so, I felt like I was a tough cookie to conquer the inclement, atmospheric conditions; it was thrilling to know that anything disastrous could have happened.
STUFF DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ME, I HAPPEN TO STUFF! -
Met up with the girls at the Glacier Guide Building; they were waiting for the go ahead on their helicopter trip but with the downpour the chances were looking grim. It ended up being cancelled because the visibility in the chopper would have been so poor and they had to stay on an extra day especially. I gave a rundown of my morning and finished their cake as I couldn't let a perfectly good, slice of carrot cake go to waste! We shared hugs and then the clouds parted, as we did also; the sun decided to put in an appearance after I'd battled miserable weather. Weirdly, this made the air much chillier as the cloud coverage has a warming effect on the atmosphere within this special valley.
Our bus driver taking us on to Franz, allowed us to take a mini detour in order to reach the viewing area of Fox Glacier and Mt Cook's Peak. So nice of him! It was a glorious photo opportunity from that distance and we were grateful for the 20 minute delay. It was far frostier in temperature at Franz Josef Glacier; some might go as far as to compare it to being as cold as penguin's tush! I could easily stare at the gorgeous scenery and a smudge of pink trailed across the firmament all day. The worst part of the day was electrocuting my hand on an adaptor plug I was removing; it was sooooOOOooOOOO painful but I'm more than dumb enough to do that.
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