My Kiwi Experience Part 5: our first hitchhike, first helicopter ride and first time walking on a glacier.

Everything about our hostel at Franz Josef was great at a first glance. Another hostel dog greeted us (as did the friendly owner bearing alcoholic beverages), the wifi was free, the hot tub was the biggest in the country and the showers were something else complete with hair straighteners in front of each mirror! We were all sleep deprived and mildly hanging from our night before so were looking forward to chilling and having a fairly early night ready for our Helihike the following morning. 

My friend and I thought we'd test the hot tub before we tried out the luscious looking showers. However, this hot tub was far from hot and the jets weren't working. This, added to the fact that an inappropriate couple decided to start getting it on beside us, led to a swift exit out of the tub and into the showers. These also didn't live up to our high expectations. They were luke warm at the highest temperature and quite frankly a bit of a let down. Despite this, we did manage to have a quiet evening in the snug, involving no booze and just a film with everybody - wild.

As predicted, our Helihike was cancelled due to the overhanging cloud the next morning so we booked it for the day after hoping that the weather reports were correct and it would be a sunny day. We didn't want another day doing nothing so we braved the rain and headed to the base of Franz Josef glacier. It was a 5km walk to the car park where we began an hour and a half trek to the glacier. We got soaked but someone was on our side as we approached the glacier when the sun came out briefly and a bit of blue sky peeped out too, lighting the blue ice and making the glacier look stunning. 

There was no way we were walking the whole way back and knew that the guys had hitchhiked the day before, so we decided to give it a go. The amateurs that we were stood outside the exit of the car park with our thumbs out looking (and feeling) very sorry for ourselves. More and more cars passed even when we could see that they had seats so we decided to change tactics and walk a short distance with our thumbs out to show that we were putting a bit of effort into our journey back. I think about seven or eight cars passed us and we began to lose hope when a huge tour bus full of Koreans who didn't speak a word of English (including the driver) stopped and let us on board. Trust us, first time hitchhiking and we get picked up by the biggest vehicle going. A funny story to add to the collection.

We decided to treat ourselves to a bar meal that night and went for the nachos and fries. The food was delicious but the service was very below average. We counted three tables (including us) dining and there were two ladies serving, so why it took an hour and a half to complete this disaster before we could hit the bar and drink with the rest of the group who'd opted for all you can eat pizza, I really don't know. However, our trauma ended and we had a pleasant evening enjoying $5 cocktails with everyone.

The following morning brought hands down the best thing I've done yet in New Zealand. I couldn't have leaped out of bed faster to look out the window and suss the weather and probability of us going up in the helicopter to the glacier. When I spied blue skies, I couldn't contain my excitement and pretty much skipped the two minute walk to the centre. We got kitted up and headed to the helipads where our ride awaited. This was my first time in a helicopter and I reckon anyone watching would have instantly known this from the buzz I had surrounding me. My expectations were completely fulfilled as I had so much fun in the helicopter up to Franz Josef Glacier and this was only the start. We hopped off, attached our crampons to our boots, grabbed our poles and set off following the path marked out by our guide who had his trusty axe. 

We were up there for around three hours and every now and then I had to keep looking around me to ground myself and acknowledge the fact that it was real.  We witnessed numerous ice falls which sounded like huge explosions and were something I'd never want to be under. We saw Kia birds which were described as annoying parrots but I thought were pretty cool, and when the guide mentioned that they speak to one another I asked "what, in English" which caused many a sigh and a few laughs! Yet another of my stupidity defining statements. We used many different walking techniques to get around, down the caves and through tiny alleyways in the ice and all the time we had another helicopter ride back down to look forward to. My pictures don't capture even half the reality - it was unbelievable.

All in all the Franz Josef Ice Explorer is absolutely amazing and something I'd highly recommend doing if you visit. It took us a while to come back down to earth after doing it before hitting the hot pools which were included in the price of our tour for a relaxing afternoon. A fantastic day, probably one of the best yet.

The drive to Wanaka the following day was stunning. We had an early start and a brisk walk around the mirror lake just outside of Franz Josef and we were a little disappointed as the low cloud meant that the mountains were hidden. Our driver assured us that as soon as we got to the other side of the southern alps, the skies would be clear and the sun would be out. He was one hundred per cent correct. Every second of our journey felt surreal because it was that beautiful. Snowy mountains, bright blue skies and crystal clear lakes which created a mirror effect making us less disappointed about not getting the full image of the mirror lake previously. It was unbelievable. 

When we arrived in Wanaka the views kept coming and the sunshine had remained so it was another "let's get straight into shorts and head to the beach" scenario. However, unlike at Kaiteriteri, the sun was actually hot and we happily sat on the beach in shorts, drinking cider until sunset. We even made friends with a friendly dog who played fetch into the water and considerately shook herself dry away from the group (the majority of the time anyway). It was a lovely chilled evening in preparation for the chaos that would be Queenstown for the next few days.

Before leaving for Queenstown we had one last stop where we climbed Mount Iron. Initially due to my bust knee from a non-drunken fall in a toilet cubicle the night before (I panicked and imagined the scenes, paramedics bashing down the door, all very embarrassing and traumatic), I never thought I'd make the full circuit. However, we all did which was partly thanks to a lovely couple we met motivating us, it did help that they had a very cute dog too. The scenes from the top were incredible and the locals are very lucky to live in such a beautiful place. To be fair everyone living in New Zealand are all so lucky.

Another few stops were made for ice cream (amazing) and to watch some people do their bungys (rather them than me) before we reached Queenstown, party town! 

I shall fill you in in a few days...

Things I've learnt:

-happy hour is NEVER just an hour

-they call it the 'wet coast' for a very good reason

-L&P is addictive and needs to come to England as does Whitakers chocolate

-hitchhiking is fun 

-glaciers are incredible and it's really sad how fast they're retreating

-I don't know what day it is 90% of the time

-Geography A level would've been much easier if we had field trips to New Zealand south island, just a thought

-when on a budget, crisps in sandwiches are a game changer

-Kiwis love to knock Possums down (I've never seen so much road kill)