Glacier Country on the West Coast

Wednesday 5 November

After Louis “accidentally fell into a coffee shop” we got moving and decided to split up so Louis could go cycling and I could go walking… but funnily enough we both ended up at the Glacier Access carpark at the same time, so Louis locked up the bike and we walked out to see the Franz Josef Glacier then took the pathway to Peter’s Pool - a reflective kettle lake. As I drove up the Glacier Access Road, the sun broke through, driving the clouds back and opening up beautiful views up the Waiho River.

Walking down the pathway to the Franz Josef Glacier viewpoint, we passed several waterfalls and a tumbling stream, while the birds serenaded us from the trees above - one glorious bellbird or kōmako serenading us quite close by - love the blue mask & beak! The piwakawaka were as flitty as ever, but far too quick for me to catch a shot on this occasion.

From the Franz Josef Glacier Viewpoint it is still a good distance up to the base of the glacier, but further access has been sealed for safety reasons. The colour and details of the glacial ice really needed a telephoto lens to capture the beauty - fortunately I had mine to hand so got some clear shots under the bluest of skies. Spent a while chatting to a young British couple who were delighted when I took their photos for them, and shared with them the miracle of wide angle shooting on an iPhone - using the 16:9 aspect ratio!

We strolled on over to Peter's Pool - a dark peaty kettle lake a km or so back along the track - the reflections were rather lovely - nature at its finest.

After lunch back at Banjo we decided to follow the water race track to Callery Gorge.

It was quite a trek up hill and down again, but the gorge at the end was gorgeous - milky icy blue glacier water of the Waiho River, cutting through a rocky gorge then tumbling down the valley to the sea. The pathway through the woods and along the water race was quite magical with Tolkienesque twists and turns, trickling streams, mossy banks and lichen covered trees. We even found a scary looking horned skull - a remnant of Hallowe'en , or a voodoo curse perhaps?

We crossed a bridge and wondered if this was our destination - but we followed the path on down for another few 100metres and suddenly burst out of the woodland onto a swing bridge to nowhere which crossed a smaller version of the Hokitika Gorge, this was the Callery Gorge on the Waiho River. Again the glacial aqua waters were mesmerising, and the dark wet cliffs of the gorge were stunning. The waters were running quite fast after the spring rains, but I wonder if you could canoe up this gorge in the summer perhaps?

After a good day of exercise we chose to reward ourselves with dinner at Betsey Jane in Fox Glacier and set off early as they don’t take reservations, just operate a waitlist once the tables are filled. Good planning - we got in on the first sitting and had a delicious meal, every bit as fantastic as we remembered from eating here with Richard & Diana in January. We couldn't pass up on the baked camembert with honey, nuts and cranberries, of course, that was just too good! Then Louis went with the lamb while I tried to be slightly healthy with the sweet chilli prawns - yum!

As we were so early, we drove out to the Glacier View Point to enjoy the spectacular scenery as the clouds parted sufficiently for us to catch sneaky peeks of the peaks - Aoraki & Tasman. It was too early for sunset, but we had a lovely walk through a little copse populated with bellbirds, piwakawaka & tuis, singing to their hearts content, and had a giggle at a large kererū who appeared to be posing for photos!

What a wonderful day… sunshine and blue skies are never guaranteed on the West Coast, but we got enough to make this day special. 🌤️