Most of March 5 I spent on the Intercity bus getting from Queenstown to Franz Josef. On the way we went through the Haast Pass, and the cliffs and waterfall were an incredible site. Sadly, as the driver told us, two young Canadians were killed there in a rockslide in 2013. Rock control is a serious concern there.
Falls near Haast Pass
The bus ride took 8 hours, including a few rest stops. A few hours longer than it would have taken in a car but I am still very happy not to be driving.
There are two main stopping spots for glacier "viewing", little communities near Fox Glacier, and Franz Josef Glacier. I opted for the latter as it seemed it was the larger glacier. We passed through Fox Glacier, which is only about half an hour from Franz. It looked like a nice, if very small, community so I hoped Franz Josef would be as well. Not so. It really is just a stopping spot, with hotels and hostels, and a very uninspiring main street with a few places to book glacier tours, souvenir shops, and eateries (mostly bars and burger places).
I'd opted to stay in a single room with bathroom in a backpackers place, just to see what they are like (and because it's the cheapest option, about $100/night). Certainly I wasn't the only one there in my age group. I think they are great places for young people travelling around. There are lots of common areas to meet, and they provide breakfast, and soup and bread at supper. Plus a large screen TV and a hot tub. Lots of opportunity to meet other travelers. Once may be enough for me however. Just as an example: they advertised laundry facilities but only after doing a wash did I discover that a dryer was not available. And to say they were not well maintained would definitely be an understatement. I did find a laundromat so that problem was easily resolved, and not, after all such a big deal. At this point it was time for bed.
The backpackers hotel where I stayed
The next morning (March 6) it was pouring, and continued to do that until mid-afternoon. By that point I'd given up on getting to the glacier. It's been retreating, so to get to the base you need to take a shuttle, then hike for 45 minutes, or arrange some kind of tour to actually get on the glacier. I met a man from Alberta who said the glaciers there are much more impressive than the ones here on the west coast of NZ.
So there you have it. The up side is that I got to catch up on my sleep and think a bit about the 2 weeks I haven't yet booked. If I were to do this again (which I think extremely unlikely), I would stay at Fox Glacier, and watch the weather forecast very closely, as the west coast gets so much rain. Unfortunately I booked a bit in advance and have another bus out of here in the morning. Goodbye Franz Josef. Oh my goodness, it's pouring again.
The couple from England in the room next to me told me that the day before they had done a half hour helicopter ride with a short landing on the glacier, and really enjoyed that. For them it was novel, as they don't often get to see snow.
