Poo pub, possom pie and glacier climbing

Our first stop on the Kiwi Experience bus was Lake Maninapua where we stayed at the curiously named Poo pub - a traditional west coast country pub with a crazy old man owner. We were told two hours before that in the evening there would be a fancy dress night so, given the short notice we resurrected the Rambo costumes that we last wore in Cambodia! It was a great way to get to know everyone and we ended the night by drunkedly wandering down to the lake in the dark to see the glow worms.

After a night at the Poo pub we travelled down the west coast stopping off at various places including a Possom museum where we learnt the fascinating history of possoms, ate some possom pie and Tony (another guy on the Kiwi bus) was attacked by a wild pig!

Our next stop was Franz Josef, a nice little town which is home to one of the world's fastest moving Glaciers. We spent the first day chilling in the 20 person hot tub with Karl's ipod and speakers providing entertainment for all. The next day we hit the Glacier - Karl and Dan did some ice climbing and Sean hiked up the Glacier (there were only two spaces left for the ice climbing). The Glacier hike was amazing and at the top Sean cooled off with a dip in the icy water!

Dan and Karl also had a great (and very tiring) experience, the highlight of which was when Karl was attempting to climb over a ledge. Just as he was almost over the ledge he fell and was left hanging on his ice picks, unable to pull himself back over the ledge, much to the amusement of Dan (who was filming it) and the rest of the group!That night we all went out and (don't ask me why) Dan ended up walking around the pub naked except for a strategically placed beer towel. For his efforts he was rewarded with a a temporary tatoo - just a typical night out. (SM)

Poo pub, possom pie and glacier climbing

Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand