DAY 22 - 24: FRANZ JOSEF TO GREYMOUTH TO CHRISTCHURCH

Tuesday, Feb 11 - Thursday, Feb13  Day 22 - 24

Franz Josef to Greymouth to Christchurch 

The six of us had one last breakfast together at a Queenstown diner before we said our “final” (New Zealand) goodbyes to the Goodmans. We piled our seven suitcases, four water bottles, and eighteen maps into our bright blue Toyota Prado, had a tearful goodbye with our Danny Bloomstone lookalike concierge (okay, that may have just been me crying) and motored out of the small town onto the open road north to Franz Josef Glacier. 

Our first rest stop was a visit to world famous Kawarau Bridge Bungy jump, where we watched MANY brave souls take a headfirst dive. 

Disappointed that she couldn't get in her helicopter ride, Karen begged Steve to take a bungy jump with her. She is quite irresistible, as you all know, and Steve finally agreed to take the plunge. I was lucky to get a great pic from above!

Those two sure are a couple of nuts!

The winding mountain road insured me a front row seat, and the boys took turns driving. If you’re a Geller, you might remember a certain Yosemite vacation involving narrow cliff roads and hairpin turns. If not, use your imagination! The longest straightaway in six hours of driving was only about two minutes long! We found the charming town of Wanaka for lunch, where we discovered that four travelers in the hand were worth two in the bush.

(The same could be said of the many ice cream parlors we tragically passed on, erroneously believing we’d have another chance to indulge later in the day.)

The scenery was the real star of the ride, taking us around lakes, next to dramatic gorges and breathtaking waterfalls. We got out to stretch our legs at Thunder Creek Falls in the heart of the rain forest, which was a pleasant, shady walk until the one hundred million biting flies attacked us. Here’s a picture of the Greenbergs—the Sisselmans’ photo looked a bit like two people being eaten alive and Karen wasn’t too keen on my posting it.

We reached our destination, the Te Waonui Lodge in Franz Josef, and were greeted by a deafening chorus of cicadas. Fortunately, they quieted down before we went to sleep, unlike the rowdy Queenstown villagers who partied all night. We ate dinner at The Landing, one of the three dining choices available to us in the tiny alpine town. Even though most of the patrons wore footwear and the wifi worked some of the time, we agreed it was a restaurant we didn’t need to return to. (Unfortunately, we ended up eating lunch there the next day!) We caught our first glimpse of the Olympics and remembered there is a real world out there. After discovering we were thirty years older than EVERYONE at the local bar we found after dinner, we turned in early-ish, excited and mildly terrified (depending on which of us you asked) for our heli-hop and 3-hour glacier hike (what the hell were we thinking??) early the next morning.

Well, that didn’t exactly happen. Having missed a hot air balloon ride in Melborne due to electrical storms, taking a “choppy” ride to a blurry Great Barrier Reef due to a cyclone, passing on our bike ride through the Barossa due to the excessive heat, it wasn’t all that surprising that our helicopter tour was canceled for fog. Here's the girls upon learning we'd be skipping the tour:

What WAS amusing was the way our guide broke the news. “I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you won’t be dying in a helicopter crash this morning.” (He turned out to be right.)

Karen and I decided we better find another way to amuse ourselves, hence the rendezvous with the plastic men. (Karen got excited when she learned she could wear her own socks!)

After driving back down the most treacherous part of the mountain, we came to Fox Glacier, which was more accessible by foot. Here we are climbing toward the face of the glacier. 

It was pretty cool, but not quite as exotic as Franz Josef would’ve been. Oh well. At least I got a high five from my plastic man!

(He was so proud!)

It was pouring by the time we were ready for lunch, and the booming metropolis of Fox Glacier actually lost power, so Steven decided he'd better stock up on a coupe of his favorite Aussie snacks!

Sadly, we returned to the Landing for lunch. We spent a very quiet afternoon by the roaring fire in our hotel lobby, pleasantly reading, downloading photos, and hemming my new white jeans with my tiny travel sewing kit. (I hope you’re all impressed!) On the way to the lobby, we encountered a fellow guest in full tribal regalia, including full-on facial and body tattoos, a headdress, massive fur cape, grass skirt, and six-foot spear. Not quite knowing what to say as we passed in the hallway, my ever-glib husband came out with, “I guess you found something to do today.”

Dinner was a four-hour, five-course affair in the hotel, which surprisingly was one of the most entertaining of all our dining experiences. As most of the menu items were Maori specialties, there was an inordinate number of k’s, w’s, h’s, p’s and vowels. Even after a full recitation by our server, there were still ingredients that remained mysterious. Steven and I decided the hidden ingredient in our duck prosciutto “entrée” (appetizer) must’ve been soap (which is around the time we both set down our forks). Karen’s grouper lookalike lacked flavor, but she was not allowed to complain, as she’d requested the chef not douse it in butter. Larry and I enjoyed delicious lamb mains, and the rest of the group enjoyed peanut butter ice cream with warm chocolate cake while I had one of the strangest desserts ever—a poached kiwi (not bad) accompanied by kiwi-infused vodka with large bits of chopped kiwi (vile). Needless to say, I “shared” Larry’s dessert. Luckily the “sauvy b” was good, and we laughed and cried most of our way through the meal and closed down the restaurant.

This morning, we hit the road again for our 2-1/2-hour drive to Greymouth, stopping at the very interesting coastal town of Hokitika for a coffee and a treat. The beach is famous for driftwood sculptures, including this cool design spelling out the name of the town.

We almost saw our first kiwi, but we were too cheap to pay admission. We picked up the Tranzalpine scenic rail in Greymouth for a guided four-hour train ride through mountain passes to the town of Christchurch. We’re getting a little spoiled with gorgeous valleys and stunning waterfalls, but it really is all we’ve seen for the past week or so, which is why I'm sharing this photo of our snacks instead of the scenery. 

Dinner in Christchurch at Fiddlesticks, we met a cute bartender from North Carolina (one of very few Americans we've encountered) and decided to fix her up with Ed, our Queenstown concierge. A good day's work!

Tomorrow, we hit the vineyards of Blenheim. We'll let you know how that goes! Happy birthday, Mom and Spencer, and Happy Valentine's Day, all! <3