New Zealand Road Signs

Nov. 26

You know those roads you see that snake up the side of a mountain and you wonder who or what kind of vehicle ever goes on those roads?  I do. Mrs. Tomtom sent me up one today. It was supposedly the quickest way to where I was going and I didn’t realize I had gone off the main highway until it was too late. This road actually had guard rails! It also had a gate closing it in winter, chain bays for pulling over and putting chains on your tires,’ Rocks Falling’ signs everywhere, and the one really confusing sign “Take Extra Care Accident Black Spot”. I still am not sure what I was supposed to be looking for!?! Oh, and after twisting and turning for miles, I would see a yellow sign with a black twisting arrow, like something new was coming up ahead? There were also yellow warning signs with a big black exclamation mark and the words underneath saying “Cattle Stops”. Is that like, a rest stop for cattle? No idea what those meant either?  It was a grueling, terrifying, breathtaking ride that I’m sure a passenger might have enjoyed. For me it was an endurance test only superseded   by my fear the rental car could not handle all the turns and steep grades. I really wished I had my Camaro. But I followed the crazy road through brown, tussock covered mountains for the first hour and eventually came down through a narrow passage into a lush valley. This valley lead to more mountains that became verdant and forest covered. An amazing change of scenery in a short span of time.

I got out of the car to get gas at a station that advertised “Last Gas for 120 Kilometers” and noticed it was much cooler. I had no idea why. I figured maybe the mountains had changed the climate. Back in the car I rounded a corner and saw a huge waterfall sliding down the side of a forested mountain wall, so I pulled into the wayside and walked through a short and stunning rainforest to get to the river into which the water fell. Here I met the infamous NZ sand fly. The minute I slowed down they were on me and biting.  Walk fast and you can outrun them. So, I went quickly back to the car. A few minutes later I rounded another corner and was shocked to see the ocean! That’s why the temperature had fallen. The Tasman Sea was beside me and endlessly flowing away. On one side of me I saw green mountains covered in rainforest with snowcapped mountains behind them and on the other I have the aqua blue Tasman Sea pulling out to Australia. I love New Zealand!!

As I approach the town of Fox Glacier I am craning my neck looking for both the glacier and Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, the two highest peaks. The weather is beautiful, clear and in the high 70’s. After a few clouds over the ocean on the drive up I am anxious to enquire about helicopter rides over the glaciers. This is glacier country with over 400 named glaciers in these mountains, but Fox and Franz Josef are unusual in size and the fact that they are sometime growing, not just receding. After checking in at my drive-up to-my-door-Bates-type motel, I go to the helicopter office. All flights are full today and tomorrow, finally, one spot is found by one of the companies in the morning. I have to keep my fingers crossed for good weather. I pull on my hiking shoes and drive to the road that takes you to the face of Fox Glacier. It is very weird driving through a rainforest filled with palm trees, hanging moss and lush tropical plants on the way to a glacier! I get to the parking lot and start my 20 minute walk to the face or terminal ice.

A word about “easy” hikes. All the hikes are coded easy to difficult and one would think easy is pretty much of a stroll.  Easy is a relative term. Most middle aged and older women who power walk think they are in pretty good shape and easy sounds like a piece of cake. Well, don’t go signing up for any of the Great Walks just yet. Unless it’s a paved or a packed and clear trail and on the flat, power walking hasn’t prepared you for much of anything. It might make you huff and puff a little less than I did climbing the mountain to parasail, but that’s about it. These ‘easy’ trails are covered with roots, rocks, fallen trees and streams to cross. You must be constantly looking down to avoid twisting a foot, ankle or knee, and as a result your neck and shoulders ache from being bunched up. There is no rhythm to your walking because you’re picking your way around and over stuff. If you want to enjoy the view, you actually have to stop and look or you’ll kill yourself. The ups and downs are perilous and murder on older knees. And every time they tell you how long the walk will take, add at least 20% more, just because. The whole way to and from the glacier today I watched people and no one was looking up. Everyone was watching the ground. Granted there are a lot of rocks around glaciers, but the point is no one, young or old, can just run along these trails. So I chuckle now when I read the trail difficulty and know I will never go past easy unless it specifies 5 minutes or less. Because basically, anything harder than easy, is full out mountain climbing, pick ax and all.

The glacier terminal itself was mammoth, had deep blue colors reflecting from within, was shedding gray, rushing, rock filled water down the canyon and generally impressive. I was glad I had taken the easy 20 (30) minute walk (gasp!) out to the face. For dinner I drove to Lake Matheson which has a café that looks directly at Mt Hood and Mt Tasmen and offers a free glass of wine with dinner. On a warm sunny night, what could be better? I had chicken and asparagus risotto with lemon and herbs. Very nice and a great view. Lake Matheson is famous as a lake surrounded by forest and thus very calm and situated in such a way as to be a perfect reflecting pool for Mt Hood at sunrise and sunset. I have enquired and plan to be up at 5:30 AM to take the walk around the lake and be ready to snap the photos of the mountain and its reflection tomorrow morning. I hate getting up early.