glaciers and mist with famous toilets!

so we are off again this morning along the wild west coast-

we have lots of adventures awaiting us- the morning is dreary and drizzly... our first stop is the town of Franz Joseph (believe it or not- it is famous for its public toilets- LOL)

here we see a man emerging from the famous toilets-

 
we are in town to pick up tickets for entrance to the Franz Joseph Glacier park... and then off again to the Glacier- we will be back to see the movie they have there but it isn't open yet-

LOL- as you know Mike has us up and out everyday before ANYTHING is open...so on to Franz Joseph glacier-

fake park ranger in the photo above- looked quite real until you see his feet- LOL (I think he is the same guy they cut out of the brochure - LOL)

so off we go with a local guide from the park who we picked up in town when Mike paid our entrance fees

there is a hike through the surrounding forest before you can even see the glacier in the distance-

then on to the valley where the glacier has receded and the river carries glacial rocks and soil down to the Tasman Sea-

 

above- the guide explains how glaciers are formed and the length varies based upon climate conditions.

the glacier in sight-

the mists over the glacial valley and waterfalls along the hill sides-

the group continues on- I decide enough of the crappy weather (and I have been ON a glacier not just walked near to one- photo included below) so I head back through the forest to spend some quality time with a Kea in the parking lot and with Darryl who has finished smoking while we were gone- LOL - the others head on- with people dropping out at various points - most did the whole walk but they didn't get ON to the glacier-

(Phil, Don and Mike raptly listen to the guide)

my own glacier experiences-
on the water in Chile - we went right up to the calving glacier in a little tender- totally fun and amazingly beautiful- you can see the variations in color on the floating part in the foreground of this photo:

and on land- in Canada with TB about fifteen months before the NZ trip- here we are ON the glacier- TB gathered glacier water in his bottle and we posed for a photo:

so you can see why I just didn't make it a priority to hike out TOWARD the glacier in Franz Joseph...

but back to my Kea- you can see how crappy the weather was that morning from these Kea photos- all I really got were profile silhouetted shots-

this was the ONLY time in the 14+ days that the weather was really bad- the people who had thought about the helicopter ride over the glacier were S.O.L. and I would say this was among the least impressive places we stopped along the way- but never fear- the day has more in store for it and the weather gets better too...

so we head back to town where we get to have our own public toilet experience and also to view the movie Flowing West-

described in their own website as:
  

Hang onto your hat as you speed effortlessly across spectacular glaciers and amazing ice formations before climbing towards mighty snow peaks only to plummet suddenly into an icy depth... all while your feet are still planted firmly on the ground! Experience a trip to the movie theatre - glacier style!

Flowing West - the Glacier Movie screens exclusively all year round in the Alpine Adventure Centre on the main street of Franz Josef township, and combines breath-taking New Zealand scenery with a thoroughly entertaining and informative glimpse into the world of glaciers.

 An OK movie- some pretty impressive shots of the Southern Alps- on to the public toilet-
 

LOL- there are a lot of people (who are always in front of me in the WC) who take longer than ten minutes in the bathroom so I am completely in favor of the no loitering mechanism here! LOL

next up - believe it or not- a lunch stop- in Harihari- where the pickings are slim- but there is ice cream! So we don't go hungry- and Mike encourages folks to go to the local gift shop up the road- I don't go inside but outside is a photo op of a shoe tree that is quite worthy!

it put me in mind of two other photo ops from trips TB and I had taken- one a teapot/pitcher tree in Tennessee and the second a shoe planter in Canada at Emerald Lake near Banff, Alberta:

 so at this point we are heading north along the "wild west coast" of the South Island of NZ - zipping north to Pukekura- but I am going to do a separate post on that so we will end this one here and continue on shortly...

the ones that get away

or maybe the ones left behind- since there is such brouhaha these days about the new book called the Leftovers about those not taken in a "rapture- like" event...

but that isn't what I am referring to- I am referring to the photos that I really like but that somehow just don't fit into the flow of the books I make for each of my trips...

an example- when was the last time you saw a row of working phone booths in the US?

a few more that caught my eye-

or saw a sign like any of these? LOL

then there are ones like TB getting his glacier water drink - just didn't fit into the physical layout:



or the photos of stupid behavior on the part of other travelers - like the guy who - having been warned by numerous signs to stay in your vehicle if you see bears- - not only got out of his rent-a-camper but left the door open so his family could be mauled too - LOL - AND he stopped in the middle of the road so no one else could pass....

or the ones that just don't fit in the "good taste" (and we do use the term loosely) of the book-  like the standard national park facilities we encountered during the entire trip:

or on the other end of the spectrum - the lovely luxury of the Lake Louise lodge - which also just didn't really jive with the overall thematic approach of the book either- something about hotels only doctors could afford - LOL

and finally - some just don't make it because I run out of pages- the limit is 101.... and no matter how beautiful there just isn't any more room...

more more

continuing on from the last post:

a new use for old boots:

Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park (two views)

Tekakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park:

Peyto Lake in Banff National Park

The Weeping Wall in Banff National Park:

Upper Waterfowl Lake in Banff National Park:

 Lake Hector in the distance:

TB gets some glacier water right at the source:

giant glacier vehicle- holds sixty plus passengers- has six wheel drive - tires at 15 lbs pressure only one of the ones made is outside of Canada - in Antartica....

The small speck below is another one of the glacier vehicle on the road to the glacier "walk around" point at the foot of the glacier's upward slope (helps to give some perspective- it was big)

this was a natural stopping point as we go on to the next place (photo-wise) so enjoy the trip...