Monday, April 16, 2007

Franz you are one hell of a guy!




Inside looking out of the "creepy tunnel"Megan climing down the narrow on Franz


Whats goin down party people! Glad to see hear that so many of you are enjoying our adventures, but i am pretty sure not as much as we are living them! So after Greymouth we headed down to the town of Franz Josef to see the glacier. We arrived without lodging this time and it actually worked out for the best. We ended up staying at a very cool place called the glow worm cottages. We sprung some extra cash so we could have our own bathroom, TV and kitchenette (basically a hot plate and some pots and pans). There are many things to do in Franz like go for hikes, go check out some glowing worms (glow worms as they call them), and go hang out at the local bar (the blue ice bar is a fun place to hang out with your 19 year old glacier guide).

So we initially were going to stay in Franz for 2 days but turns out the glacier tours are quite popular so we had to wait another day until then. We decided to not waste the day and go for a hike. The hike we went on was amazing and ended at an old aquaduct dug in the late 1800s. Me and Megan went inside the tunnel for around 50 feet before i shun my light on the ceiling and saw 100s of giant crickets and some pretty large spiders. That was the end for Megan, she high tailed it out of there. I did end up going back in and documenting some of the cooler features and to take photos of the ferocious insects. Then, as soon as it got dark we decided to go find these elusive glow worms everyone is talking about. The trail we went on was a 30 minute trail each way and was a very easy incline. We headed out with our headlamps (torches) and went out and found the glow worms. They are pretty damn cool, we turn off our lamps and the forest is all twinkly and purdy. We stayed there for a bit, trying to figure out what they look like but couldn't see them. So we trekked back and on the way back we encountered some of the most fierce animals in the whole jungle! The evil, blood thirsty, man eating POSSUM! Well, at least that it what Megan thought. I do have to admit, it was a bit creepy seeing these animals in the wild when all you are used to seeing is a few birds, insects and nothing else and that is before they started to make this creepy noise. Anyway, we escaped the claws of the Possum and went home, all safe and cozy in our place.

The next day we had our trek at 130p with the guiding company and our host Keane. We were fitted with spikes for climbing the ice and a brief instruction on what to expect. We then all pilled into the big yellow bus and headed to the glacier (around 10 minute drive). We arrived at the car park and started to hike towards the glacier. From a distance, the glacier looks around 1k away but in actuallity it was 3ks! So we hiked along and checked out other cool features (cracks in the mountains, waterfalls and interesting rock formations). As we got closer we could actually see just how large this thing is. The mouth of the glacier (where the river comes out of) was around 40 feet tall and around 150 feet wide. The mouth is a HUGE tunnel that goes around 50 meters underneath the glacier. We then arrived at the "terminal face" and put on our spikes and began our accent. The whole thing was so amazing, we saw "worm tunnels" (formed by water, air and a weak spot), blue ice (happens by magic as it turns out), and waterfalls within the glacier. All of this was very very cool and I hope our quick video gives you a feel on just how neat it was to be on this huge, very old piece of ice. Till next time peeps.

8 comments:

Dik Pose said...

AHHHHHHH!

Dik Pose said...

Oh, and I love the Megan videos... its just way too cool!

Thanks for having us on the trip with you guys!

Ry-Ry said...

Me TOO! I like the video narration. But i think you guys need a really cool sign off after each video. So work on that will you!

Ry

Israel S said...

Yeah, come up with a snazzy sign off for your videos.

Hiking that glacier looks so cool!

mikeroush said...

FREAKIN AWESOME GUYS

Mac McCool said...

BRRRRRR!

Eva said...

Trip sounds amazing. I vote for adding a wacky dance in each vid (like that guy who filmed himself dancing in cool places around the world).

Enjoy,
Eva (since you probably don't know me by my alter ego...)

Estes Therapy said...

Megs...Your outfits are looking great while traveling! Keep up with the accessories! :)

Have fun!