Haast, New Zealand
Have a copy of our itinerary handy? Check it out. What does it say for Friday, November 11? That’s right, travel from Hokitika to Haast, stopping to see the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers on the way. And that is exactly what we did, per plan, on time and on budget.
Despite a steady rain. It wasn’t terribly cold (12c or 54 f, which has been the norm for this trip) nor windy. But a steady, not heavy but soaking rain fell every step of the way.
What would prompt two otherwise sensible folks like us hike for three hours (2 hours to FJ and 1 hour to Fox) over slippery rocks, exposing ourselves and more importantly our expensive cameras to the elements? I mean, we’ve seen plenty of glaciers before. We’ve helicoptered, landed in a ski plane and walked to glaciers in Alaska and have seen them elsewhere. And I’m sorry, but these glaciers aren’t as big and impressive as the Mendenhall and the others in Alaska. But we did it and did I mention it rained the whole way?
Why is the question. I have to claim responsibility. At some point on every trip we take, from an afternoon hike to this 28-day monster I convince Judy we ought to see what’s over the next hill, around the next turn in the path, at the next mile marker. And before you know it, we’ve done the whole trail. I guilt her into it. It’s one of my several character flaws.
This time she took the car keys from me about 20 minutes into what turned into a two-hour hike to Franz Josef. She would wait in the car, heater running, until I fulfilled my hell-bent wish to conquer the trail. But she never turned back. She kept on trudging along. Because like me, I think, she is driven to see a goal achieved, to work the plan to successful completion. She did elicit a promise from me that we’d finish FJ, do Fox and then that’s it; we go directly to Haast and our hotel.
Actually, we’re not alone. There was a pretty impressive line of tourists doing exactly the same thing: making good on entries in their itineraries that make Friday be glacier day. Lots of Chinese, as usual but plenty of other nationalities making what, for many of us, is probably a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
We’ve been having a great trip so far. We’ve executed our plan flawlessly, never lost, never late for an appointment and always pleased with the path we’ve chosen. But maybe there’s something to be said for being more flexible and adapting to whatever presents itself, be it weather or unexpected paths.
But on the other hand, we’re sitting in our hotel room in Haast, lamb rump and a good local lager in the belly, two loads in the washing machine and feeling pretty mellow. And, no kidding, just as I type this, Judy says, “Look! A double rainbow1” And sure enough, the sun has reappeared and is creating not only the rainbow but a magnificent sunset over the Tasman Sea. What if we’d strayed from our plan?
Tomorrow it’s an interesting drive south to Queenstown by way of Wanaka and another twisty mountain road that is said to have some really nice scenery. Judy says that Sunday, our day in Queenstown, ought to be a rest day. It’s a week from Sunday that we head for home and kicking back for a day will recharge the batteries for the final push.
Want to bet how successful we’ll be kicking back and resting? Me neither.
P.S. In yesterday’s posting I mentioned stopping at the Wilderness Gallery and mistakenly called Juergen’s wife Maria. It’s Monika and I do apologize. Before leaving Hokitika we returned and had a nice conversation with Juergen and Monika. Check out his work at http://juergenschacke.photoshelter.com
