Wattleys in NZ: A weekend at the Glaciers

Its been a while since I last posted, mainly due to working a twelve day stint which came to an end on Friday. To mark the end of this mammoth work session Dan and I planned a little escape to the glaciers. It was wonderful and not without its Wattley dramas...

We started Saturday morning amazingly promptly, proving that when necessary, or when incentives are great, Dan and Sarah can get themselves into action. We left the house at 9.10am Saturday morning, my first day off in 12 days, feel free to be impressed. We drove in glorious sunshine to Hokitika where we stopped at a French cafe for breakfast and coffee (Ok so we left at 9.10 without breakfast or coffee but still!) Dan was very excited as he had a rather spectacular cooked feast. This start made for a very good day as a fed and coffeed Dan= fun, singing and general Dan-ness. However as we drove away from Hoki we seemed to be leaving the sunshine and heading towards cloud.

Franz Josef Glacier

On arrival to Franz Josef we were greeted with a beautiful town surrounded by snow peaked mountains which were a little obscured by a grey smudge of low cloud. We went to the information centre where after discussions we decided the 8 hours glacier hike was not for us, nor the $700 heli hike. We will do these another time but this weekend was about R&R, rest and recuperation. We did decide to go on a little hike to a tunnel where you can see glow worms. To do this we were told we would need a torch, Dan looked a little disappointed as we didn’t have one. Luckily Dan has been a very good boy this year so Santa snuck him an early present of a head torch, amazing how Santa always knows what we need ;) Apart from the head torch we haven’t quite managed to accumulate or buy tramping gear; we have our boots but that’s about it. So off we went with walking boots and Dan’s man bag not forgetting Dan’s rather dashing straw hat. As we reached the mouth of the cave we realised our boots were in danger of getting soaked in mid-calf high freezing water which would put them out of action for the foreseeable future. We had however bought along other footwear, my converses and Dan’s flip flops (we had predicted the potential problem). So we took off our boots and socks, tied the laces together and slung then round our necks. The proceeded to wade into the dark, wet tunnel, head torch, man bag, straw hat and walking books all creating the attire of this adventure. The water was literally freezing (Dan’s addition: clearly it wasn’t or would in fact be ice but it was running off a glacier) and as we got deeper and deeper into the tunnel I began to wonder if it was only pot-holing I didn’t like or whether this posed any logical and substantial threat to my wellbeing. I made Dan stop every couple of minutes to check for glow worms as this was the main, well only reason this dark wet cave had become the scene of our latest quest. Eventually the moment came where everything went dark and we could see the tiny glow of the worms. We proceed into the tunnel further until we had thirty of forty above our head. (about 300 meters inside) It was pretty special. We then turned back and I think I almost ran out. By the time we reached the light Dan’s shorts were soaked from the constant flicking of ice water from his flip flops. So Dan did what any logical man would do, took his shorts off and hung them in the sun. Thankfully it was a secluded area!

The entrance to the tunnel

We had walked almost all the way back to the car when Dan suddenly announced he thought the hotel key may have fallen out of his pocket when he had taken his shorts off. It was one of those moments when you think to yourself ‘as a wife how is the best way to handle this’ frustration or anger are rarely productive so I optimistically said perhaps it was in the car and we proceeded on. Dan was a little grumpy as he really didn’t want to hike back up the hill to get the key. As we arrived back at the car we were relieved to see the key was indeed on the dash board. My relief was heightened as we then realised Dan had left the driver’s window completely open. Completely open. Nothing was taken, our passports were still in the glove box and Dan’s ipod sat clearly in view. Dan still maintains it was actually very clever leaving the window completely open as by leaving the window open it looked shut. That (apparently) is much better than leaving it part open. Another bite my tongue smile and learn a vital lesson- the keys and passports now stay with me!

The rest of the day was wonderful. We stayed in a lovely forest lodge and had a wonderful dinner by a log fire. My only complaint about the venue would be the people staying next door. I understand trying to fill your room thus making family holidays more affordable but I am not joking when I tell you there were 12 Chinese tourists ranging from 6-60 years of age staying in this two bed lodge. The constant flurry of Chinese chatter died to a lull at 10pm (respectable) only to recommence at 7am along with tooting car horns and slamming doors. But nothing was going to dampen my mood as for Dan and I Sunday morning was Christmas morning and we had stockings to open...

The rest of the weekend was filled with glacier spotting, lake walking, hot pool swimming, beautiful views and the police.

As we left to drive back to Grey at fiveish Sunday evening our eyes were bombarded by stunning views around every corner. Purple digitalis grows on the verge of turquoise rivers, lush forests sit in front of vast snow peaked mountains, green fields and dairy farms slot between peaks and streams creating a delight for the sensors. The roads curve and wind then every now and then open up to a straight where the views are incredible. So incredible it is easy to lose sight of one’s speed until that is you are pulled over by the police. Not only was Dan mortified to have been (caught) speeding but he was also driving in flip flops. As the policeman went to his car to write Dan’s fine and twenty demerit points Dan did a quick shoe swap. Dan was very upset to have got a speeding ticket. I just found the whole thing quite exciting (it’s not illegal to drive in flip flops- just not recommended).

So we are back in Grey, have had a wonderful steak dinner and are now about to skype family in the UK. All in all a wonderful weekend making the twelve days of work a distant memory.

Merry Christmas everyone