Franz Josef Glacier

After our stay in Nelson, we drove down a significant distance to Franz Josef Glacier. The drive took 10 hours and took us along the beautiful rugged West Coast, passing mountains and beaches with XXXL-sized rocks. The road was sometimes single-lane for short distances or, for example, on bridges, and was partly carved into the steep rocks, which explains this single-lane approach.

In retrospect, what we noticed at this point was that we must have left behind the highways of New Zealand shortly after Auckland. Because there simply were no more. The speed-loving driver has to be content with country roads here. However, a beautiful panorama is offered, but it's better to drive slowly before the car jumps into the directly adjacent river valley during single-lane curves. Along the way, we made a stop at the Pancake Rocks, a remarkable rock formation of the West Coast.

Upon arrival in Franz Josef, it can be said briefly: one town, two parallel streets. Surrounded by mountains. One feels here like in the vastness of Canada or Alaska. After the long drive, we relaxed in the Glacier Hot Pools. The thermal pools are beautifully embedded in the flora and fauna of the landscape. The next day, we set off early for the Franz Josef Glacier visit. On the West Coast, two tectonic plates meet, which have created this mountain range that will accompany us for a while. On the way to the glacier, we passed through a contrasting landscape from jungle to wide riverbeds and finally to the mountain landscape. I think we'll let the pictures speak for themselves. In the evening, we went on a self-organized glowworm walk and looked at small sparkling lights in the forest. Spontaneous actions usually turn out unexpectedly well, and so a black possum crossed our path, which did not show any shyness and let us marvel at it and even take pictures of it.