We continue our way to the North, along the West Coast.
Photo: before Lake Wakatipu, in Queenstown.
Queenstow is a resort town, with its shops (cloths, sport equipment...), its adventure tourism centres (jetboats, bungy jump, skiing, river surfing, canyon swing, sky diving, mountain biking, paragliding), its hotels... and its fabulous restaurant 'Ferburger': try the Holier Than Thou. One of the best vegetarian burgers in the world!
Yesterday, we had a half day glacier experience at Franz Josef Glacier or Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere, which is a 12 km long glacier located in Westland National Park.
Together with the Fox Glacier (where we also tramped) 20 km to the south, it is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 240 metres above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest.
It's just awesome!
Crampons attached to the shoes, we climbed the glacier with our guide who, equipped with a ice-axe, re-carved the stairs as and when we advanced.
This morning, halt in Ross, a gold mining town. It was an important centre during the West Coast goldrush of the 1860s and still has a large operating open cast mine adjacent to the town.
The largest gold nugget ever found in NZ was discovered in Ross. It was a massive 3.1 kg with a current value $112,000. The nugget as later purchased by the government of the day and presented to King George V, who turned it into a golden tea set!
We didn't find any nugget, but just in front of me, on the ground... a $100 banknote! The legend continues...
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