Happy 60th Birthday, Tom! I’m sorry I’m not there.
Today we had several short hikes. It was too wet for the scheduled hike to the Franz Josef Glacier, so we hiked up to the terminal face of the Fox Glacier. We walked up the rock strewn valley the glacier has left behind as it has retreated. Right now it is actually advancing, but it has been steadily retreating over the past hundred years or so.
Next was a hike around Lake Matheson. In calm weather you get beautiful views of mountains reflected in the lake, but it was windy, so we did without the reflection and it was still very beautiful. We stopped at a deck-like structure overlooking the water and watched a 4 foot eel slithering through the underwater plants. The guide dropped a bit of food into the water to feed it, and the eel came up and appeared to be looking at us from below, but either it didn’t like the food or it didn’t like us, so it never surfaced while we were watching.
After hiking around the lake we left the coast and headed inland. We crossed the Haast Pass, then took a hike to some beautiful blue pools along a lovely river, crossing a swaying foot bridge (limited to 5 people at a time!).
We stopped in a little town to stretch our legs and I spotted a newspaper that said that the Democrats had taken Congress and Rumsfeld had resigned, and that New Zealand's government was hopeful that we might now be able to find a solution to the mess in Iraq. When we were back in the van I shared the news and the entire van cheered.
Tonight we’re at Makarora lodge. Another yummy dinner, after which we were introduced to a “Tim Tam Slam”. It involves a hot chocolate-like drink called Milo, and cookies called Tim Tams. The cookies are two layers of wafer with a caramel layer in between and a chocolate coating. They’re rectangular. You bite off the two ends, then suck the hot chocolate up through the cookie, using it as if it were a straw. Just before the cookie melts, you eat it. It takes a little practice to get the timing down so that the cookie doesn't collapse in a soggy mess before you can get it into your mouth.
We also had whitebait, a tiny fish that is a local delicacy. You cook them in potato and egg fritters. Not much taste of fish by the time you’re done. We all tried them and they were “interesting”, but most of us turned down seconds.
Tomorrow we head for Queenstown, with an hour and a half hike en route. Today's pictures are here.
Cheers!
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