 |
| Where the glacier stopped in 1908 |
Things improve almost immediately. The hostel I stay in in Franz Joseph welcomes
you with free bowls of hot soup on arrival and also has a free hot tub, though
I use the opportunity to wash and dry my clothes instead. The girl who
shares my dorm is from Brisbane and we have a nice little ensuite, bar fridge
and coffee making facilities in our room. The main lounge is a friendly place
too. Next morning, despite intermittent showers, I do the 6 Km walk to
the glacier. You can see how far it has retreated, especially in the last
decade. In 2008, glaciologists said that it would shrink a further 38% by 2100,
but it looks like it’s way ahead of schedule. Still, the waterfalls along the
way make up for the long walk across the rubble left behind. They’d be
famous in their own right if they weren’t being upstaged by a glacier.
 |
| The long trek begins- you get an idea of the scale when you realise that there are two people walking the trail inside the red circle |
 |
| Just a few of the many waterfalls along the way |
 |
| Almost there -the 2009 Terminus is as far as you can go. It stops about 1Km before the actual glacier |
 |
| Look but don't touch |
At the spot where the glacier ended in in 2009, there are barriers to stop
you going beyond the moraine wall - the big heap of rocks pushed down by the
glacier. It looks tantalisingly close though it’s almost another kilometre away.
My nasty suspicious mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that this might be
for commercial reasons, to keep the guides and helicopters in business, but
there have been a number of deaths. In 2009, an ice wall collapsed on
two Australian brothers who ignored the warning signs. Even with experienced guides there
is a risk. A
helicopter crashed in deteriorating weather at Fox Glacier in 2015, killing all nine people aboard. The DoC checks the weather daily and
closes the track if there is too much rain or a risk of flooding or rock falls.
As the
Rankers
website says, “Don’t be a dick and risk someone else’s life to save yours.”
We could do with signs that say that around our National Parks too.
 |
| I was a bit puzzled by this sign. Did it mean aliens were going to carry you off or that the mosquitoes were really big? I've seen them a lot since. Apparently they mean no drones allowed |
 |
| A man having a chat with the Kea who seem to enjoy the company | |
 |
| If the Kea aren't getting enough attention, they start chewing on the safety ropes |
Cheeky Kea - mountain parrots, play to the crowd and do their best to undo
the barrier ropes. They have been hailed as the
smartest birds on the planet. Though there were once hundreds of thousands of them, there are now only an estimated 3000 to 7000 left and they are now regarded as endangered. One the reasons they are dying out is their
fondness for junk food, so please don't feed them, no matter how friendly they are. Other reasons include collisions with cars, poisoning, being killed by introduced predators and a bill which lasted until 1971 whereby the government paid a bounty for dead Kea because it was thought that they were responsible for stock kills.
Despite the vagaries of the weather, I am glad I am here now
and not in peak season. One of the reviews says that the track becomes a highway
then and about one chopper a minute flies overhead.
I would have loved to stay longer in Franz Joseph to see the wild glow worms and try
out the public hot pools, but afterwards it rains hard and I have a long way to
go before my next stop.
For a glimpse of what Franz Joseph looks like from the air, weather permitting, check out the
Jelly Journeys blog. It also has sunshine views of the Otir Gorge Viaduct, which I tackle next.
Comments