Franz Josef Glacier

The day starts cloudy and rainy, after a quick breakfast I set off south. On the right, the Tamansee, on the left, the mountains and hills of the New Zealand Alps, the small (and only) road leads me through a dense forest covered with ferns and palm trees. In Hari Hari stands a replica of a biplane, with which the first flight from Australia to New Zealand was made in 1931. 12 hours, partly without visibility....

Continuing in Okarito, I drive to the beach to hike the three mile pack track. A seal is rolling around on the sand, I continue in a big loop. Unfortunately, it's 2 hours after low tide and it's no longer possible to walk the whole path along the cliff coast. After 45 minutes, I prefer to turn back before getting my feet wet from the tide. The next stop is the Franz Josef Glacier, in about 25 minutes you can get a little closer through the large riverbed, then the restricted zone begins. Global warming, as elsewhere, has greatly affected the glacier, a wild river with milky glacier water gushes down the valley. Back on the bus, I drive back a bit for the night to a secluded small parking lot next to a river. Maybe I can start a helicopter flight here early tomorrow morning, if only the weather gets better.