After I published my last post, I made my way south towards the Pancake Rocks.
These rock formations are one of the main attractions on the West Coast.
And while they definitely look interesting, they really shine during high tide and strong winds!
During this particular combination, the water of the ocean gets pushed to the shore and shoots up through blowholes between these rocks.
And while I was there at high tide, the wind was severely lacking. I could only see water shooting up twice and neither was very impressive.
So if you want to know, what it’s like, I have to suggest a search on youtube.
After I enjoyed a late breakfast, I woke up at around 7 am to catch the high tide, I made my way towards Greymouth and subsequently Franz Josef Glacier.
While there are much more glaciers in New Zealand, the appeal of Franz Josef and Fox Glacier is the close vicinity of a rainforest.
But much more impressive was, how far the glacier has retreated over the last couple of decades!
The point, from where I took this picture, as well as the riverbed was once completely covered by ice. And the vegetation on the sides has all grown after the glacier melted.
Once I got to the viewpoint, roughly 400 metres away from the face of the glacier, I was surprised, how blue the ice seemed to be, even with the thick clouds covering the valley.
I tried my best, to capture it on camera!
After I visited Franz Josef, I went back to Hokitika, where I spent one night in Mt. Brown Hut.
This hut has only four bunks, but it allows stunning views of the Southern Alps in good weather.
The sun was shining, when I started the trail and I was hoping to get some good pictures from above the bush line.
But the weather had other plans, and when I got to the the hut, I was surrounded by low hanging clouds!
But the other people, who were at the hut, made the stay very pleasant and I didn’t really want to descent on the next day.
Although, that was also partly due to the rain, that amplified the mud on the track. It wasn’t really walking down, more like slipping and tumbling down!
But in the end I made it back to my car, even though my legs were battered and bruised!
When I got back to the campground, I was glad to take a warm shower, as I was soaked from the cold rain, that set in halfway down. It was still a very nice adventure!
Right now, I am still in Greymouth and I will make my way towards Arthurs Pass in the next couple of days. But that is also depends on the weather, which doesn’t look too good right now.
I will keep you updated, though!
Until then,
Cheers!
Max Abbe 