Apr 16th: Disappointment Day!

Day 13 (Day 9 in New Zealand)

We awoke early; full of hope. Today was to be one of the main highlights of our time in Kiwiland. Months ago we had booked this trip: a “heli-hike”: a helicopter ride up to the Franz Josef Glacier followed by a guided 2 hour hike along it  

The forecast for this area had looked bleak for the last fortnight but gradually improved in recent days. Today the sun was out. We could clearly see the mountains. We dressed in our thermals and extra layers and made our way to the base.

The busy streets of Franz Josef with our hotel centre right

People were just returning from an earlier flight and comments overheard included, “best thing I’ve done in my entire life!”.

We announced ourselves to be the front desk to be greeted with the news that they were just waiting to hear from the pilot as cloud was coming down.

Seconds later a radio message confirmed all flights for the rest of the day were cancelled! The issue being they needed to be sure they could get us back down in 2 hours time  and they could not be sure.

We were gutted: this was to be my (early) 70th birthday present. We always knew it was a risk with the weather this region experiences but it was still disappointing.

We could still go early tomorrow and make it to our next stop but it is not only dependent on suitable weather but also on a couple of cancellations. It seems unlikely.

We wandered up and down the street looking for other flight options. (Apparently there are only 3 firms doing these flights but they all operate under multiple names). As were many others it transpired. A few were still flying scenic ‘no landing’ flights and some still doing 10 minute landings for a few photos but the latter were all booked. 

Eventually we had a modicum of good fortune and we are now provisionally booked on a 30 minute flight tomorrow at 11am which covers Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers including a snow landing. Again, very dependent on the weather, of course.

We are not easily down-hearted and after reminding ourselves of the risks we took at the time of booking we looked for something else to do. NB: if we don’t get a flight we will get a full refund.

Near our hotel is a Wildlife Centre with kiwis. A great chance to see those shy, cute little national emblems of NZ. At the door was a board showing the current numbers: 2! Two juvenile kiwis. And no chicks. Ah well, we’ve never seen one so “let’s go in!”.

And then we saw the price. NZ$38 each. About £19. To see 2 chicks. “Ah but you get 48 hour entry” said the woman behind the desk. You’re only open 10am to 5pm so that isn’t 48 hrs. And how long does it take to see two chicks? We passed. 

I do them a disservice as they are performing an important incubation role to a very endangered species and it was the end of the season. However, I can’t help thinking they need a “30 minute look” option for about $10 max. 

We decided to drive a short distance to a walk ending with a viewpoint where you could see the end of the glacier. As Jim Bowen used to say, “Let’s have a look at what you could’ve won!”

Here is the photo to prove it.

First glimpse of Franz Josef Glacier.
It’s right in the middle.

As close as we can get on foot (about 3km away) without full hiking equipment and several hours walking.

The following video clip of an information board shows how much the glacier has receded in just a hundred years or so due to global warming 

Shortly after it started to rain so we drove to Lake Mapourika where we had a sandwich in the car watching the pouring rain. After, we drove in to a hamlet called Okarika by a lagoon. There was little there. It rained harder so we returned to the hotel to catch up with some blog writing and a bit of down time. The first since we left home.

And it was day 13!

Chin up. As Capt Tom used to say, “Tomorrow will be a good day!”