Last night we slept so well that it was almost difficult to get out of bed this morning. Because we didn't have WiFi we didn't stay up as late.
After checking out, we drove just down the road to the Pancake Rocks. They're right along the cliffs and scientists know they're made of limestone but they don't know how they became layered in the way that they are. It's pretty cool to see the waves crashing into them.
Our drive to Franz Josef was pretty easy compared to some of the other parts. The roads weren't nearly as winding. It's colder the further south you go and we started to get a little rain on and off.
We arrived in Franz Josef with enough time to check into the hostel and make our way to the Guided Glacier Hikes. This was another we thing we booked in advance and it ended up just being our guide, Sam, and the two of us.
Of course it started drizzling right when we were about to go out but that didn't stop us from having a great time. They gave us waterproof boots, pants, and a rain jacket. Sam took us off the usual public trail and had us try all sorts of different plants. The first one kind of made your tounge tingle and go numb. The second tasted like a green bean. The third was like cinnamon but then it kind of made your mouth on fire.
As soon as we got out into the flat part of the glacier valley, we could see waterfalls all around us. The water was so fresh Sam told Mesa to fill up her water bottle here. When we got up to the rope, Sam took us a little further. Because we had a guide we could go. The glacier is in a retracting phase right now, so it's much further back than it used to be. Plus all of the glaciers are melting so it's getting harder for people to see them (they're not even doing hikes on the ice right now because there's a large cave under it). He showed us a part that you could see where the glacier had been and he asked us how long ago we thought it was when it was up that high. I guessed 50 years and he said it was just 4! But it was quite a drastic difference I never would have thought it was just that short of time.
Sam brought us even a little further than they normally do their hikes, but it was awesome when we got there. We were on the ice, but it was still part of it that was covered in rocks. We could see the cave and the water rushing under it. It was pretty beautiful. Scientists expect that this glacier will be gone by the 2100. Or earlier since the area is basically due to have an earthquake. They sit right on a couple fault lines and Sam said they believe that any earthquake now would register around a 9.5 and basically nothing and no one would survive. The eathquake that recently took down a large portion of Christchurch was only a 6.5. We are hoping for no earthquakes tonight.
After getting back wr turned in all of our wet gear. I dont know what happened with Mesa's rain gear but she was soaked. My pants were a little wet near the bottom, but nothing like hers. We ran back to change quickly before going to get some dinner at The Landing, where Sam recommended.
We shared a small pizza and some potato wedges and then went back home. It's still rainy outside, so we probably won't do much.
It's been kind of nice to not have more driving to do after our busy day.
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