From Westport to Franz Josef

An early 9:30 start after breakfast. Cape Foulwind Walkway (seriously) was our first stop and this time when Hamish said like Lightning did that it was a one way walk, we smartly decided to hang back with the bus and he drove to the end of the trail. Instead of over hill and dale until we finally saw the seals we walk up one hill and immediately saw them! Back on the bus we continued on, seeing the Tasman Sea along the coastal highway.

We stopped at a scenic overlook. It absolutely did not disappoint. Then on to Pancake Rocks. Formation 27 million years ago, Uplift 5 million years ago and Erosion the last 100,000 years.

One more overlook where Hamish took another group picture then another 45 minutes and we stopped for lunch. We brought toasted peanut butter sandwiches and ate on the Great Wall of Graymouth. Known for the gold rush in 1864, three million ounces of gold was procured from the mountains. From Graymouth we rode our final 2 hours to Franz Josef. Situated on the rugged West Coast, Franz Josef is a small township with many things to do, but is most famous as the home of the Franz Josef Glacier which is located approximately 5 km away from the main town. It was first explored by geologist Julius von Haast in 1865 and immediately named after the Austrian emperor.

Once in our room, we took a walk to locate the places we would have to be tomorrow morning and afternoon for our day of exploring. At 8pm it was time to join the others in the dining room for a taco dinner. A margarita was given as a starter and $6 shots of tequila were available. They were the smallest margaritas I’ve ever had. No tequila shots – thank you anyway! We left after dinner and so many of the young ones were already drunk! It’s another day of sightseeing in the books!