It was only two nights ago in Lake Tekapo when we finally decided to
go to Franz Josef instead of Wanaka. We decided to go back to Christchurch then
take the route through Arthur’s Pass and Greymouth to Franz Josef. The issuanceof driver’s license in the Philippines was suspended until October, so when I renewed my
driver’s license a few months ago, I only received a receipt which served as my
temporary license. Obviously, that wouldn’t pass for driving in New Zealand
(although I didn’t bother to ask), so we had to make use of public transportation.
We found Atomic Shuttle, which
provided transport from Christchurch to Franz Josef.
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| Another option (more expensive) is to take the Kiwi Rail |
Early in the morning, our cousin dropped as at the pick-up point in
Lichfield Street. The shuttle was early. It was quite spacious and comfortable
although I prefer looking though the bus’s glass window. We passed by Castle
Hill and made a stop at Arthur’s Pass, which was supposed to offer spectacular
views. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we passed by the mountains in Arthur’s
Pass so although the scenery was good, it wasn’t quite spectacular.
The shuttle dropped as off at Greymouth where we had lunch and waited
for about an hour until we resumed our journey via an Intercity Bus. The ride
was quite nice because the driver provided commentaries along the way. We
traveling along the west coast, with a great view of the Tasman Sea. We made
another stop at Hokitika where we had another dose of the sea. The beach wasn’t
as good as Kaikoura a quick break beside the beach is always good.
After more than 8 hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Franz
Josef. The town was quite small that we got dropped off right across our hostel
(and the other passengers were dropped off in their respective lodgings as
well). It was still early when we arrived so we visited Franz Josef Glacier Guides and
booked our heli-hiking.
That night, we decided to do a short hike at the Terrace
Walk, where glow worms were supposed to be found. We were fairly warned
that they were disappointing and true enough they were so disappointing that
when we saw the glowing dots in one area of the forest, we just burst with
laughter.
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| A 30-minute walk through the dark |
And so, my day ended here. Tomorrow, I can’t wait to do one of the
adventure activities we’ve been looking forward—to hike on a glacier.
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