Frans Josef and then.... the Tranz Alpine
3/14 /2024 Thursday
Where in the world are Christine and Mary!
We woke up in our fabulous hotel to a crisp, cloudy and misty morning. We were headed out to see a couple of glaciers and take a couple of hikes around a lake and streams. Oh no, I took a few steps and my knee felt funny - no worries - it’s not swollen and I don’t remember hurting it - so I figured I could power through the hikes!
First stop, we went to Te Kopikopiko o te Waka, which is a scenic viewing point, as well as a cultural heritage site. We were supposed to be able to see the Fox Glacier as well as Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, which are a part of the Southern Alps. Supposed to is the key word!
Te Kopikopiko o te Waka (waka means canoe), is the first site to depict a tribes story on the South Island. It is a modern design and depicts a Ngāi Thai (a Māori tribe) creation story. In Ngāi Thai mythology, Aoraki and his brothers - all sons of Ranginui the god of the sky-made a voyage from the heavens intending to meet their fathers new wife, Papatūānuku, the god of the earth. However they found only a vast ocean, so they began their return to the sky, but Aoraki as the eldest, forgot to say the karakia (prayer) at the vital moment. Their waka (canoe) crashed back into the sea. It remains, capsized on its side with Aoraki and his brothers all petrified as New Zealand’s tallest mountains.
The reason that I told the whole story here is because we heard many, many stories like this during our travels. There is no way that we could, or would want to, relate them all, but just about everything we talked about in New Zealand had tribal legends attached.
Here I am leaning on the front of the canoe (waka) with the mountains, mostly covered by clouds, in the background.
The bow of the ship, with 2 crazy women leaning in- who are they anyway?
This device was really cool. It looks like a little a sundial, but on it there are over 20 names of mountains. When you line it up to the mountain name, you would look right down it and see the summit off of the dial. Cool! But, alas, it was cloudy, so we couldn’t see them - sad face!
Christine is enjoying herself anyway.
The whole tour group got a good picture here we are all on the bow of the ship. If you look closely our mouths all look silly - we were saying - waka.
Food for thought. Why do all national park signs across the world look the same?
Next stop - Lake Matheson. This small glacial lake is famous for the reflections of the mountains, especially the Cook and Tasman mountain peaks. There is an easy 1.5 hour walk around the lake. Unfortunately, it stayed too overcast to see those fabulous views!
Christine took a picture of tour friend Meghan and I headed out on the walk. Alas, after walking across the bridge, I decided that my knee hurt too much to complete the walk- bummer. I turned around and went back to the gift shop/cafe, and waited for the others to come back.
A sign you wouldn’t see in the states!
Christine went on to see some cool things… this is an Australian swamphen, known in New Zealand as the pũkeko. They were all over, but we enjoyed them because they were funny and fat and waddled.
Everyone saw this on the forest floor because it was so bright. It is sky-blue mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri). It is also featured on the New Zealand $50 bank note.
Then there was this one, called a vermilion wax cap, and it does grow around the world. It is bright red when young and fades to orange as it ages.
Here is a shot of the lake with the mountain reflecting on it. Meghan and out tour guides Colin and Lulu are looking good!
As an Fyi, here is what I would look like in perfect conditions. (Picture off of internet) I think we can all agree that it looks beautiful both ways!
Hello!
After the morning hikes, we headed into the town of Franz Josef for a bite to eat and then rest before our afternoon walk. The town of Franz Josef was named after the nearby glacier of the same name. The glacier was named by Sir Julius von Haast, in honor of the emperor Franz Josef I of Austria in the 1860s. The town adopted the name in 1998.
Time for sauna and hot tub! My knee was hurting and I didn’t think that I could do the afternoon hike and Christine thought that since everything had been so cloudy, that she wouldn’t be able to see the Frans Josef Glacier. So we stayed back and relaxed. While we were relaxing in the hot tub, I said to Diana, did you let Colin know that you were missing the afternoon walk? She had totally forgotten!
Bummer for Christine though, it had cleared enough and the glacier was visible. It looks to me like she enjoyed the consolation prize!
At night, while it wasn’t the best meal food wise, it was the best meal fun-wise! I found out that one of my tour buddies was born the same year and day that I was! Yay to Veronica and I! (Actually, I think the dinner was the night before, but who cares, we had fun anyways)
3/15/2024 - Friday
We had just 2 main things on the agenda today.
First we went to the town of Hokitika, New Zealand to the Bonz N Stonz carving studio. Here we got to finish sanding and polishing our own green stone, which is also known as jade or as geologists call it nephrite jade. Māori refer to their treasured stone as pounamu. It is only found on the west coast of the South Island. Only the tribe of the South Island can now harvest them from the treaty of 1840. (But if it washes down the river or washes up on the beaches, you can still keep it). The Māori people used the stone to creat tools and weapons, then later on, jewelry. There are many shapes that are traditional for the jewelry. We were told that originally the shape of the necklace you wore, was what your trade or occupation was. At some point in time, or maybe over time, each shape took on their different meanings.
The shop employees local carvers, and they carved out our stones ahead of time.
Before we worked on our necklaces, we entered a small shop and workshop. Then we got to pick out our stone.
It is hard to see in the picture, but we could pick out one of these:
The fish hook, or hei matau in Māori. In the picture this is the one that is towards the back. Christine picked this one. It has been prominent in Māori culture since pre-colonial times. Wearing one represents love for the ocean, bringing good fortune when traveling across waters, good fortune, prosperity, healthy life and safe travel.
The teardrop, or roimata in Māori. It is the one in the foreground of the picture and I picked this one. According to Māori lore, it depicts the tears shed by albatross birds as they mourn. It is considered a calming stone, representing grief and pain or loss, recovery, comfort, empathy and unity.
The toki or adze that represents an axe head. This was originally a ceremonial symbol made for chiefs and warriors. Now it typically represents perseverance, dedication, bravery and success.
Here is Christine and others sanding their stones.
Then the local craftsman Steve polished the stones for us.
And made them into necklaces.
TADA! While it seems like a simple activity, we had fun and we got to take home a nice necklace made of the greenstone.
We done good!
Next, after shopping around the town, getting a knee brace and some souvenirs (they had the best souvenirs for looks and value)………. Train time!
We took the TranzAlpine scenic train journey between Greymouth and Christchurch. We started in a rainforest on the west coast, then climbed the Southern Alps and went through the Otira tunnel which is 5.3 miles long. We stopped in the town of Arthur’s Pass for a quick picture. It is a tradition for everyone to get off the train and throw snowballs at each other. Since there was no snow, we amused ourselves with pictures. We then went through the gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River, and finished through the farmlands of the Canterbury plains.
First things first! Colin bought us all some bubbly to toast to a great train trip!
We went to the back of the train where there was an open viewing car to enjoy the scenery.
Then back to the car to hang with the rest of the crew!
Bathroom break. There are always goofy signs on the bathroom walls, I liked this one
Then a stop at the highest point - Arthur’s Pass. At just over 2400 feet it is the highest train station in the South Island.
No snowballs to throw, so we took pictures. If you look closely one person didn’t know we were taking the shot!
We got back on the train and headed right back to the viewing car…..
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