Today was a getaway day from Franz Josef and arrival at the Wilderness Lodge on Lake Moeraki maybe 80 kilometers south along the Tasman coast. Rain started last night before dinner and lasted all night. We rose to the heaviest rainfall we've yet seen, and knew we'd be operating slightly differently than had been expected.
Our first stop was at Lake Matheson, known for its 'reflectivity' (the tannins and other nutrients from the forest make the water dark and reflective). Its setting with the Southern Alps (Mounts Cook and Tasman) in the background can produce some great photo ops. Not today. Nope. 
We had a great 'wetwalk,' though, our first, and everyone learned the strengths and weaknesses of their footwear, pants, jackets and headgear. Mine ranked from B to C-. Warm temperatures, no wind and companionship made the easy trek around the lake in the rain forest just another 'coin for the memory bank.'
About the time we finished the walk around the lake the rain began to abate and some of the clouds lifted. We eventually could see the vague outline of Mounts Cook and Tasman, but they never came into clear view. The Fox Glacier, though, showed up and that was our next stop along the way.
Everyone was bummed when we got to the glacier trail head and found it closed due to fresh rock falls. 
Fox is somewhat more dramatic than Franz Josef at least its toe, and all of us wanted to get closer to it. The two differ to the type of valley they inhabit. Franz Josef is a broad 'U' and Fox is a 'V.' 
The sheer and close-in rock faces of Fox offer quite a different perspective. And while this picture doesn't show it, the striations of the sedimentary rock are almost perfectly vertical indicating the violent uplift of the terrain. The glacier's signature gouging is horizontal. Only licensed glacier guides are, for the time being, able to take their groups up the trail we'd hoped to hike. A ranger pointed to a human-sized rock resting on a boulder just up the valley and told us it had 'arrived' a day or two ago. Oh, ok then.
There's been an inordinate amount of rainfall and the valley has been more active than usual. We were disappointed, but no one was arguing the closure.
Fox is retreating at about the same rate as Franz Joseph and is the only other one in the country to empty into the temperate rain forest. [As I mentioned earlier, we were told there are only three glaciers on the planed that do that…the other one is in Argentina.] There are about 140 glaciers in New Zealand, but these two are the largest and most popular visitor destinations.
So, we were 0 for 2 this morning after having had no weather-related problems previously. We set out south and the weather improved rapidly until we were in full sunshine and nearly clear skies.
Our objective for the day was Lake Moeraki. We'll spend two nights here at a lodge owned by the same couple who own the Wilderness Lodge, Arthur's Pass where we were the first two nights. They do a wonderful job.
We arrived about 3.30pm and walked directly to the seacoast, about 2 miles from the lodge. Again the path took us through the seemingly unending rain forest, 
along a small stream that empties into the sea. We emerged into blazing sunshine and warm temperatures. 
The Tasman Sea here is far prettier, although no less treacherous than it was up the coast at the Pancake Rocks.
After the rather slow start, we told the leaders that all was forgiven. Another great day. Time for an adult beverage and dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment