Franz Josef

Another day, another early start.. Feeling a little bit heavy headed after the encounter with the very friendly and very generous locals at the pub...

A long drive again today but with some good stops at the most beautifull parts of the coastline. 

This area was inhabited by another local, a flightless bird so tasty it was almost hunted to extinction. The poor fella wasn't helped by its natural curiosity leading it to approach humans.. Sort of like a take a way dinner.. 

Upon the first sighting along the walk, the immediate reaction was of course for someone to yell "Kiwi!!" And the following camera frenzy was spectacular, ignoring the fact that Kiwis are nocturnal..

Next stop was the pancake rocks, the special kind of rocks used to make fairytale pancake houses and other assorted american restaurant chains.. 

   

Looking around I again found myself in Jurassic Parkish surroundings 

 

Heading a little bit more inland we approached the final destination of today, the Franz Josef Glazier, beautifully surrounded by rainforest clad mountains. Making the most of the remaining sunshine I grapped my running shoes and went up towards the viewing platform in front of the glazier. This particular glazier you are not allowed to approach from the front due to the danger of rock slides and falling ice, which has lead to a booming business in helicopter hikes going up on top ofthe  glazier, so the air was thick with the sound of buzzing choppers flying up between the mountains. 

The terrain reminds me of hiking in the Austrian Alps, with the exception that you find yourself running under a canopy of rainforest jungle. Quite impressive and a very enjoyable run. 

 Tomorrow I have booked a guided full day hike up and into the slightly bigger Fox Glazier in the neighbor valley, ignoring the temptation of doing the lazy helicopter ride.