Friday February 3rd and Saturday February 4th - Hotikika and Glacier Country

 Having enjoyed our three days in Greymouth and our introduction to this beautiful land, we headed south to Franz Josef via Hokitika and the Hokitika Gorge.

Hokitika Beach Entrance

Hokitika was smaller than Greymouth, but had a bigger tourist feel to it. No doubt this beach access is quite striking when all the lights are lit at night.

Town Clock - Hokitika

It has a rather grand clock tower in the middle of town. It was built in 1903 to commemorate its citizens who had served in the Boer War, including 4 who died. It also was intended to commemorate the Coronation of Edward VII in England. At that time, New Zealand was still a British colony and the Governor of New Zealand at the time was a former resident of Hokitika. No doubt his influence led to a much grander monument than we've seen in any other town on the west coast to date.

An Old Theater

We had a very nice hot beverage at this art deco theatre, which operates a coffee shop during the day as well a screening movies.

Ooh, Shopping!

Staring in our face on the other side of the street was an enticing shop offering delicious warm clothing - something that always piques the interest of both Nadine and me. You'll notice that the sign says 'Possum'. Yes, indeed, it's that lovely, cute Australian bush possum that is a protected species in Australia. New Zealanders don't confer that same regard to the little critters. Instead, they try to eradicate them. It is another story of a failed introduction of an exotic species. They were introduced in 1837 for the fur trade and now wreak havoc in the native forests here. Being enterprising folks, New Zealanders have figured out how to create commercial value for these pests. Their pelts are used to make hats and fur goods, but processes have been developed to remove the fur itself and create very warm and soft yarns used in hats, gloves, sweaters, etc. Suffice it to say, we walked out with more than we had when we walked in!

Sock Making Machine at the Sock World & Sock Knitting machine Museum, Hokitika

I was also intrigued by the antique sock knitting machines that were on display at a little museum in a sock store. Most of the socks were wool, many of them merino wool,  New Zealand's third largest export. Merino wool is a fibre that New Zealanders excel at. If their sheep were not happy to stay in paddocks and wanted to wander, it would most likely be another failed introduction of exotic species. We have seen many sheep, recently shorn, happily chomping away in the fields. They were introduced in the 1850's from Australia and the New Zealand farmers drew from European stock to improve quality. Both Australia and New Zealand produce excellent merino yarns, but I favor the excellence and innovation I have found in New Zealand products.

On the Way to Hokitika Gorge

Following our brief engagement with the commercial world, we headed off to a nearby gorge, Hokitika Gorge, which had a walk that appealed to us - not too long or arduous. It was our first venture into more mountainous country and into the forests.

Hokitika Gorge

Due to recent rains, the water was very grey and silty - apparently it is generally a lovely glacial blue color, but not on this day!

Tree Ferns in the Path at Hokitika Gorge

While the water may not have been blue, there was no disappointment in the greens of the forest! The mosses and ferns left nothing uncovered! Such lushness was astounding to us!

Pathway in Hokitika Gorge

The path was really well constructed and was easy walking.

Rimu Leaves

We both spent a great deal of time trying to capture the details of the vegetation with our respective cameras. This photo of the fine and droopy rimu leaves was my best effort, with the turbid water showing in the background bokeh. The rimu tree is an evergreen conifer, which was used by the Maoris to make spears, canoes, torches and other tools. It's gum is bitter, but edible and it has medicinal properties.

Other Walkers Enjoying the View

It was a popular spot, and I appreciated those walkers who put on bright clothing (rain jackets, in fact) to provide a lovely photographic contrast to all the green. I met this couple later on a swing bridge and we compared cameras and lenses. Their names are Kathy in the yellow and Tony in the red. They are from Sydney.

An Inviting Bench

We loved the red of this inviting bench to the side of the trail, but we needed to push on to get to our AirBnB in Franz Josef.

The First Glimpse of Franz Josef Glacier in the Distance

The sight of snow on mountaintops is a visual delight, but when you add in a glacier - Wow! How exciting is THAT! I loved learning in school of the pressure and power behind the compacted ice and snow, with the resulting carving of enormous valleys through the hardest of rocks!

The Maori story to explain Franz Josef Glacier instead tells the tale of a love between an adventurous young woman, Hine Hukatere ('avalanche girl') who loved mountaineering. Her lover, Tawe, was not so keen on it but Hine managed to persuade Tawe to join her. He ended up often climbing with her until one day he slipped at the head of the Franz Josef Valley and plunged to his death. Hine's tears were so abundant that they flooded the valley and were frozen by the Gods as a memorial to her grief.

Main Road Through Franz Josef Town

There are many businesses in town that offer plane rides and helicopter rides to go visit the glacier up close and personal. Apart from the cost (NZD $200 to $400 each), we found it counterintuitive - as the use of fossil fuels contributes to the warming of the planet and the rapid retreat of this landform. It is entirely possible that we were really just being cheap, but instead of the modern approach we decided to take a relatively short walk to get us as close as is allowed without a guide.

 Franz Josef in 1908

If we had visited in 1908, we would have been able to lean over and touch the ice from where we were standing at the lookout. This photo on a sign showed us the size of the glacier at that time.

Same Vantage Point in 2023

The glacier has been retreating since well before 1908, but it was very startling to see how much has been lost in the last decade. In the next ten years, it is quite possible that even the small tongue that remains will be completely gone!

One of the Many Helicopters We Saw and Heard!

 If you look at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Josef_Glacier#The_Waiho_Loop, you will also be startled at the enormous change between 2001 and 2016. While my small decision to walk rather than helicopter is inconsequential in the scheme of things, it does occur to me that our flying and driving around to see such sights is contributing to its demise. 

Detail of Ice on Franz Josef

Having watched my share of Everest movies, I tried zooming in with my lens as close as I could get, to see the ice formations typical of glaciers - crevasses, snow bridges, fissures and other features whose names I forget (and Google won't reveal to me). I imagined seeing little people hacking their way through with ice axe, crampons and ropes. In reality here, there is plenty of rock to use on the sides, so it is unlikely anyone ever enters this treacherous space.

The dirt you see is due to the rocks that are being shaved off the valley sides and suspended in the frozen mass.

Terminal Moraine, Franz Josef Glacier - at the Bottom of the U-Shaped Valley

When the ice melts, all that rock and dirt gets dumped on the floor of the valley in a pile called moraine. The pile at the end of the glacier is called the terminal moraine. 

This Was Terminal Moraine in 1600 AD

Later in the day, we went over to Fox Glacier, 30 minutes south. (It is worth noting that these are two of the most accessible glaciers in the world for tourists to see, being close to sea level and right on the  road down the west coast.) We walked over piles of moraine that had been deposited in 1600, which now grows a thriving forest. It was at least several miles away from the current location.

Fox Glacier

As you see, Fox Glacier is not as accessible and is even smaller than Franz Josef. No doubt there are many scientists studying the issue of glacial retreat here and I am certainly no expert. It is just sad to see them disappearing.

Panoramic View of Franz Josef Valley

So I leave you with this photo showing the beauty of the surroundings here, regardless of the size of the glacier. We were very fortunate to have blue skies on this day and see the glaciers without them being shrouded in cloud. I hope you have enjoyed visiting NZ Glacier Country with Nadine and me.