Today there is Eisbein

One would think that after four days of continuous rain, there would be a break in sight, but that's not the case in the South Island of New Zealand. In our destination today, Franz Josef, it actually rained even harder than before. Nonetheless, we explored the town after our arrival. Luckily, it wasn't very big - you can walk around in a circle, so we went back indoors. The next morning, the clouds were still hanging low, but at least it wasn't raining. We decided to do the one thing you can do here: hike to the Franz Josef Glacier.

I had a lot of respect for this massive natural force, considering all the information I had read about the glacier. The Pacific and Australian tectonic plates meet in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, where we hiked. These mountains grow annually by 10 to 20 mm. The location and elevation of the New Zealand Alps favor the formation of glaciers, like our hiking destination: the Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier's meltwater continuously shapes the riverbed around the town. Just 50 years ago, this riverbed was approximately 30 meters deeper but gradually filled with sediment. If there was ever a place in New Zealand with pure, natural energy, it was surely here.

The hike turned out to be longer than expected. Normally, you can safely halve the recommended hiking times on signposts, but in Franz Josef, you should double them. We followed the roaring riverbed, where the glacier water fought its way through stones and fallen trees. After about 1.5 hours, we were almost at our destination. The glacier was already in sight. I needed a moment to take it all in. We stood there for about five minutes, simply admiring the glacier from a distance. The structure of the surrounding mountain range traced its path in a picturesque way. It stood out so much that it almost seemed unreal - like an overly good animation in a movie, appearing sharper than the rest. There were waterfalls visible on many slopes, cascading down to the ground. Once again, I found myself in a place on this Earth that I could never have dreamed of. Full of anticipation, we continued towards the glacier, which appeared ice blue. But out of nowhere, it felt like we were standing under one of the waterfalls we had seen earlier. It felt like the storm of the century. Rain mixed with hail, and the wind changed the natural direction of the precipitation from vertical to horizontal. Within seconds, we were completely soaked to the bone. Even though our rain jackets, trekking pants, and hiking boots were supposed to be very waterproof, they proved to be no match for the amount of water pouring down on us. With heavy hearts, we had to turn back, realizing that the hiking trail was hardly distinguishable from the riverbed. It was quite scary. I had never been exposed to such a long period of time in such a stormy weather. The wind brought icy air with it, quickly creeping into our clothing and transforming our bodies into icicles. And in this weather, we had a two-hour return journey ahead of us. The New Zealand weather really outdid itself. Still hoping in silence that the storm would disappear as quickly as it had come, we fought our way back to the hostel. But the weather wasn't merciful today. Shivering, we longed for the days when we were hot, cold, and hot again. Actually, we only longed for the heat. But cold would have been okay too, considering how icy we felt in that moment. Exhausted, we managed to make it back to the hostel somehow. After a hot shower, we were faced with the next task - drying everything. Jackets, pants, shirts, socks, backpacks, their contents... and the shoes. The problem with these waterproof boots is that once water gets inside, it's very hard to get it out. Despite spending four hours in the hostel's drying room, several hours next to the room heater, and multiple rounds of blow-drying, there were still puddles in our shoes.

Was it ultimately worth it? We are disappointed that we didn't make it to the glacier. But the sight from a distance made all the effort worth it. It's just that the next hiking adventure will have to wait a few days. One thing is for sure, the South Island won't be boring anytime soon.