Franz Josef...the Glacier - Night 90

Buckets of rain greeted us in the morning as the foul weather in Greymouth continued. The Magic Bus was nearly full, having picked up a number of add-ons who had just journeyed over Arthur’s Pass by train. Our first stop was in Hokitiaki, the center of the Greenstone (Jade) mining business in New Zealand. Additional pit stops were made in the small gold mining town of Ross, where one could pan for gold in the town hall, $6.50, and at some roadside Redneck museum where you could see a live possum for $4. I neither panned the gold nor pet the possum. Each segment of the Magic Bus trip is filled with these small diversions, mom and pop businesses hoping to get a few dollars from enough bored bus riders to stay in business. It appears the Redneck Museum wasn’t doing too well, as it was being offered for sale for $300,000. More importantly, these small stops allow everyone to stretch their legs and use the bathroom.

The Glacier

Lefty also like to play little games on the bus to pass the time as well. Since we had a few beers together at the bar last night, he knew me fairly well, and this gave him the opportunity to nominate me as the contestant for today’s game, Blind Date. Basically I got to sit in the front of the bus and read a number of questions to which contestants answered on pieces of paper and then I read through the answers and picked my “date.” The questions are a bit ridiculous and only five people turned in responses. The winner ended up being an Irish girl named Sandra. More on her later. Though admitted a foolish game, it was advantageous to be the contestant since instantly everyone on the bus knew who I was and made the night out at the bar much more fun. Even small bits of fame can be quite enjoyable.

We arrived in Franz Josef, a quaint little

Southern Alps

alpine town, around 1pm. Much of the bus had paid a ridiculous fee to go on a half day hike up on glacier. Having been on plenty of glaciers in my day, I wasn’t about to cough up $100 to trudge alongside Japanese tourists and obese Australian women to see a little bit of moving ice. Instead I took a long, five hour hike to the foot of the glacier myself for free. The glacier itself is quite ugly at the terminus, given the rocks and dirt that litter the area. The entire scene, however, the ice coming down from the frozen peak all the way into the green valley with the gray, water rushing out from the bottom is almost too beautiful for words.

Danger Calls

That evening we had all agreed to meet at the Blue Ice Café for drinks. A good portion of the people that had been on the bus the last few days showed up. Lefty managed to get us a few free shots. The Blue Ice has a happy hour from 9-10pm in which beer are $3 a pop. Something about paying for drinks with coins really makes me happy. Amidst drinking games and general conversation the night wore on and we all got drunk. I had made a point of it to wander on the down the table and meet my “date”, Sandra. Nearly the whole end of the table was Irish and had been traveling together for some time. Sandra was a nice enough girl, but to be honest a bit on the boring side and I wasn’t really into her. Being the drunken wanderer that I am, I gradually left the Irish scene and went to go talk to the cute Canadian girl

The Blue Ice Bar

from Toronto whose computer I had fixed in Greymouth. A bit later two of the Irish blokes chastised me for “blatantly hitting on another girl while my date was watching.” One of them asked me if I even found Sandra physically attractive, which in my drunken state I answered honestly “No.” They became a bit pissy and headed back to the table. I guess they didn’t understand that it was just a game. Oh well, fuck them. Somewhere in the background a local band was murdering Sublime.

On the walk home I realized that I think some pretty strange shit when I’m drunk. I vividly remember looking up at the Southern Cross and thinking to myself (likely out loud) “Bury me in Franz Josef when I die.” What a weird time to be thinking about death.

What I Learned Today: Today I had one of those moments where time seems to stand still and you are at complete peace with the world. Sitting at the Chateau Franz on a wooden swing, drinking wine and reading Puzo with the sun setting over the ocean to my left and the towering spires of Mt. Cook and the Southern Alps to my right I paused and thought to myself, “Wow.”

written by

exumenius on January 8, 2008 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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