part_3

Got up at 6:45. Argh! Left message for Donna at the mortgage company. Talked to Julie as well, but she had no status for me.

Had a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham. A bit of coffee and we were on our way.

8:15 sharp we reported to the Dragon caving folks. There were about 7 other folks there. Bill and Gail from Colorado, Dave and Joan from New Jersey, Jerry from the UK and a few others.

Started with the request to fill out a form listing next of kin. Pam didn't like that part too much.

Once the forms were filled out it was time to select our gear for the trip. Wetsuits, polypropylene tops and bottoms, rubber boots along with several pairs of wool socks. Also helmets with lights.

We piled into a minivan bus (VW style) and drove out to the cave site. There was a 15 minute walk through the woods to get there from the parking area. The trail was a bit muddy and there was a substantial amount of boardwalk. Very lush vegetation.

We got to the mouth of the cave and started in. The water was very cold. We had to pick our way over the rocks and slosh through the water.

This cave has glowworms, which are pretty neat. They are bluish-green specks of light. Actually, they are bugs. They glow to attract other bugs to their nets, which hang down from the cave ceiling. Some sections of the cave had so many that they gave off a glow to the entire chamber.

After crawling over a series of rocks, we came to the spot where the inner tubes were waiting. But first, we had to get into the deeper water. Pam was ahead of me at this point so she went first. Dax (the guide) told her to put her hands on her shoulders, crossed over (left hand on right shoulder). Then to bring her knees up to her chest, feet in close. She then inched forward and slid/fell down a 5 foot waterfall into very cold water. A big splash. She came up with a few choice words which won't be repeated here.

Next it was my turn. I slid down and felt myself make contact with the pebbly/gravel bottom. I was completely disoriented. Since I knew that my wetsuit would float me up, I continued to hold my breath. Sure enough, I came to the surface and started bobbing around. Yikes! What an experience.

At this point we each received an inner tube and floated down the stream on our backs. All lights were turned off, so we could see all the glow worms on the ceiling. There were a lot of them!

After the float we clambered along for a little while longer, then reached the designated turnaround point. We retraced back up to the inner tubes and floated/paddled upstream. When we had put the tubes away and climbed up past the waterfall, Dax rewarded us with hot chocolate and some candy treats.

At this point there was an option to do the "love tunnel". Most of us opted for this option. Here we had to literally squeeze & crawl through a narrow passage-way. There were sections where it was doubtful at first glance that we could even get through. At the end was a hole called the "rebirth". It was about 18" in diameter. We squeezed through it ok. The key was to think skinny thoughts.

At the top there was an option to do a water slide on a natural rock bed. Three people did it, but we opted not to since it looked like there was a fair amount of back injury risk.

We headed back to the shop in the minivan & enjoyed a hot tub. We were also treated to hot muffins fresh from the oven and a shot of some sort of liquor.

We hooked up for lunch with Dave and Joan at a place called the "Hog's Breath". We all had the Super Burger. I enjoyed the local brew. Quite tasty. It's called Monteiths.

Pam and I walked around town for a bit, then stopped at the local library to check email (NZ$3 for 15 minutes). George (our realtor) had sent an email saying the mortgage process was still on track and that the house appraised for more than we had paid. We felt this was probably a good thing.

In New Zealand, most bridges are single lane. After a while you get a feel for the "right of way" rules - when to wait and when to proceed. Signs help, but there is more to it than that. I was particularly fascinated by this bridge. In addition to traffic in both directions taking turns, the single lane was also used by trains. Any guesses to who has the right of way when a train shows up?

Drove down to Franz-Josef glacier and stayed at the motor park 1 km south of town. Very friendly proprietors.

During dinner we found out that the water supply for the town itself is polluted, and that everyone must drink bottled water.

After dinner, Pam went to sleep early while I walked over to the bridge nearby and listened to the water flow. The stream was a runoff from the glacier. Looking at the streambed and listening to the sound of the water flowing reminded me of Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington, one of my favorite places on this planet.

At the end of the day, when I laid down to write in my journal, I discovered a note written to me from Pam. It was a nice way to finish the day. My 35^th birthday.

We heard this morning that trips out of Fiordland are booked 3-4 days in advance. We decided to sit down and plan the rest of our vacation this morning.

Awoke fairly early in the morning. Decided to make some pancakes for breakfast. They turned out pretty good.

The morning was spent catching up on chores. We cleaned out the RV, did laundry and caught up on our naps. Pam concentrated on the first two items while I paid special attention to the third.

We also realized that our vacation is quickly coming to an end. Kevin at the motorpark (proprietor) had a sign that said activities in the Fiordland area should be booked as soon as possible. People were having problems booking 3-4 days in advance.

To this end we devised a schedule. Kevin called up the sea kayaking place and booked a spot for us this Saturday and Sunday. We need to be in Te Anau by 5pm Friday for the pre-trip meeting. It was interesting hearing him take care of the booking for us. Even though I understood all of the words, the various idioms made it sound like we were using a translator.

I talked to Kevin about hikes in the area and he suggested the 5 hour Roberts Point Trail. It leaves from the Franz-Josef carpark and ascends 700m to a spot nicely overlooking the glacier. Pam was still a bit tired and in more of a mood to relax, so I opted to make it a solo trip.

After lunch I drove down to the carpark (~5 km away) and gave the keys to Pam so she could drive the RV back to the campground. I had the Osprey pack with me, and was prepared for all kinds of weather.

As I started the hike, I was impressed at how well-defined the trail was. Soon, the trail became a bit rougher as it started into more rugged terrain. A few suspension bridges over rushing streams added to the excitement. There was also a wooden staircase built into the side of a cliff I had to cross.

	I have finally made it to the top. In the background is the Franz-Josef glacier. It is drizzling, but the scenery is spectacular.

	Near the end of the hike I passed this mountain lake reflecting the image of the glacier and clouds.

The height of the challenge was having to cross and climb over mossy stones while it was raining. I slipped a few times, but the trekking poles prevented serious injury. Somewhere along the way I decided that New Zealand had taken a fairly liberal interpretation of the word "trail". I think this was more on the return portion of the trip when I had to pause time and time again to figure out the safest route past a series of moss covered obstacles.

As I reached the trailhead (5 hours of non-stop hiking, net elevation gain of 2200'), I was pretty tired. I stopped and had a snack of chocolate. As I started down the 5km road back to camp, a car came up behind me. I paused and turned to wave "hi". The guy in the car (older gentleman) was gesturing something but then saw me wave and turned around after waving back. As they pulled ahead I realized that the confusing gesture was him pointing to the backseat - he was asking if I wanted a ride. I started to run after the car - YES, YES! But they did not see me in their mirror and pulled away.

As I reached the end of the dirt road leading to the car park, I saw a figure walking towards me. It was Pam, who was overjoyed to see me. Apparently she had been worried about my solo endeavor. I was was very happy to see her too. It had been a long hike.

After a shower, we walked 800m into town for dinner. Ate at the Blue (something or other) cafe. It had a nice ambiance.

Woke up at 7:30. What kind of vacation is it when you have to get up so early? Today we were doing a guided glacier hike and had to be in the parking lot by 8:30.

The Guide Company picked us and about 6 others up at the pre-arranged time and drove us 800m into town. We were thinking that we would be going directly to the glacier from here. Surprise.

We were outfitted with hob-nailed boots that looked like they were from the 1920's or so. And were they heavy! Easily double the weight of my heaviest hiking boots.

There was a 45 minute hike through the river below the glacier, and then we stopped to put our boots on.

We continued on through a series of challenges. Steep steps, traversing using fixed ropes, ladders to get up, down and across difficult sections...

	The glacier off in the distance. We hiked up to it, then put our climbing boots on to begin the "real" adventure.

	The happy couple on the glacier under an arch. A hint of the blue color can be seen at our feet.

The most interesting thing about glaciers is that they are so BLUE. It's very neat to look into a crevasse (deep crack) and see the pure blue color.

We got back around 1:30 and went over to a cafe for lunch. Afterwards, we walked back to the RV and departed towards the south.

30 Km later we entered Fox village and pulled over for a 20 minute nap. Picked up some diet cokes and muffins and we were on our way again.

We drove down to lake Hawea. The scenery was fantastic. Rugged scenery, lakes, everything you could ask for.

A picture of the mountains in the setting sun. The southern part of the island is certainly more rugged than what we have seen so far on the trip.

About 8:15 I was tired, so we pulled off into a park. Parked with the rear window facing the lake and mountains. Had dinner and listened to folks singing in the background.

Today we traveled to Te Anau. We awoke approximately 7:30, paid the NZ$20 for last nights site and were on our way. There were some older tractors (Ford) on display at the RV park.

On the way to Queenstown we stopped to watch the bungy jumps off of a bridge. The operation is run by AJ Hackett, and was the first commercially run operation in the world.

Dirt Road Highway

This is not just a dirt road, but rather, the main artery on the west side of the island. For comparison in importance, think of a very major US interstate highway. Surprises like these made for longer driving days than I had originally expected. (On the plus side, a week earlier the road was closed due to mudslides and related water damage.)

There was bit of pressure to keep moving, since we needed to be in Te Anau by 5pm for the pre-trip meeting. Since the travel times are somewhat unpredictable (due to road conditions and how fast the RV can negotiate the twisty sections), we were pretty focused to keep moving forward.

We arrived at around 2:30 pm and checked in at the Te Anau Holiday Park on the west side of town. After a quick shower, we walked into town for some food. Although we had stopped for sandwiches enroute about 2 hours earlier, that was not enough.

The walk was pleasant, as it followed the lake shore. Very scenic mountains in the background.

The wandered in to a place called The Olive Tree. We found out later that Bill, one of the owners of the kayaking company, felt it was one of only 2 places he would eat in town. The other was Red Cliff.