18 May WANAKA -- FRANZ JOSEF

This morning I woke up at 6.30 am to pack my luggage. I thought we would depart earlier as the journey from Wanaka to Franz Josef would take about 4 1/2 hour. However when Bernard woke up at 7:30am, he noticed that the sky was very clear and most importantly, Mount Aspiring was clearly seen.  Since it has been covered with thick fog since our arrival in Wanaka 2 days ago, Bernard decided to take some good shots by the lake later.

We checked out from Purple Cow by 8:30 am before spending another hour by the side of Lake Wanaka for photo shooting. Comparing to Lake Tekapo and Lake Te Anau, the shore of Lake Wanaka is muddy and full of debris like tree branches and grasses. The result was it gave you a kind of rustic look while the other lakes looks cleaner as their shores are filled with smooth pebbles.

Mount Aspiring by Lake Wanaka

We also met an old Chinese couple (Jeff and Virginia Phoon), who were originally from Malaysia but had migrated to Auckland since 20 years ago.  They were very excited to meet their 'own people' and had even given us their number so that we can call them when we are in Auckland next week.

By 9:30 am we rushed to New World to get some groceries since we did not manage to do so last night.  20 minutes later we came out from the supermarket with onions, apples, yogurt, milk but without banana. They did not have it today! Instantly, I knew that I will experience another round of constipation in Franz Josef this time.

The petrol price was at its new height today, 185.09 cent per litre.  We had no choice but to fill up the tank in the only petrol station in Wanaka.  Luckily we got a discount of 4 cents per litre by presenting the discount voucher from New World (voucher given if purchase exceeds NZ$40).

It was already 10:15 am when we were finally on our way.  Not very long after we left Wanaka, there it was, the huge Lake Hawea.  We could not help but to stop for photography opportunity. 

Along the way, there were many scenic stops but due to time constraint, we had to skip and proceed with the journey. Nevertheless, we made a right decision to stop at a place called Thunder Creek Falls.  This is a very big waterfall that gushes down to a very shallow river, creating water mist and with the effect of the sun ray, rainbow were clearly seen. It was beautiful!

 The next stretch of our journey were delayed by at least 40 minutes by 2 unexpected incidents.

1. Live Stock Stop - a big herd of cow were being transferred  on the road.  Our car had to make a complete stop in the middle of the road. The huge cows walked past our car so close that if it was not for the car windows, we would have brushed shoulders with them.  2 of the cows were even fighting by the side of my window.  I was so worried and my imagination went wild, what if they got too aggressive and broke my window? What a unique experience.

2. Construction work by the end of Lake Wanaka.  Workers were clearing loose rocks on the slope.  So, we waited for quite a while before the 'Go' sign was shown.  

The following journey was winding with sharp corners, with some of them at 25 degree turns.  Moreover the strong sun of the West Coast shined directly on my left cheek.  I felt nausea again. In all my life, without realizing, I have always picked to sit on the side of the car where the sun shines in. I can tell you, this happen every time without fail. Maybe this is the theory where people says when you try very hard to avoid something, it would come to you very easily. My left cheek was roasted and I could even see the colour of my freckles darken. 

When we reached Haast, I insisted to take over the wheel. The journey from Haast to Franz Josef was still 'hot' (strong sun ray) and winding.  Bernard finally experienced what I experienced earlier.
The face of nausea

It was already nearly 4pm when we heated the left over spaghetti bolognese  in YHA Franz Josef.  Subconsciously, I did not feel good again looking that we ate lunch at the wrong time and we had so much junk food while we were in the car.  Potato chips, chocolate.  sunflower seeds, prickled pineapple (to counter nausea as I could not find sour plum here), and now the heavy meaty spaghetti plus chocolate drink.  I always have the same 'dirty' feeling whenever I did not consume enough fruits, vegetables and water.  I knew that constipation would be back soon. 

YHA Franz Josef

Room # 6

Our twin sharing room

Kitchen

The faithful old cat in YHA Franz Josef

Franz Josef is a rather 'masculine' town.  It is not as well-groomed as Queenstown or Wanaka. There is no trace of elegance, instead garnished with astounding glacier and extreme sports.  Also, there are many Indians here, most of them walking in big groups, men in T-shirt and suit jacket, ladies in traditional sari with wind breakers.

We went for a walk in the town at 5pm, the sky was nearly dark.  We ended up buying things from the only mini market in the town, 4 Square Supermarket.  I noticed that we were very 'capable' in buying groceries and we really enjoyed looking at products and brands that we have never seen in our home country. 

We had light snacks of yogurt, garden salad and bananas (got it from 4 Square) for dinner before called it a night.  Tomorrow's glacier hike will begin at 8:30 am and it takes 5 hours to complete. Looking forward to that!