New Experiences in New Zealand - Part 2

Welcome back. When we last left off, the gang was just about to embark on an over night camping trip to the ballroom overhang. Let's continue where we left off.

As we started hiking into the dense jungle of Paparora National Park, we were eager to reach our destination of the Ballroom Overhang, a natural geological rock overhang along the Fox River which hosted glow worms on the walls and ceiling. Hiking along the trail, we followed the orange arrows all the way to our first river crossing. We scoped the destination via the orange arrow and it was across a river approximately 200ft wide and a maximum of 3ft deep at times. We stuck to the shallower areas to avoid getting too wet. For the crossing, we all de-booted and doned flip-flops supplied by Old Navy. This obviously took a few minutes to complete the process in addition to rebooting on the other side of the river. The trail took us on a narrow path through the valley which surrounded us with giant ferns and palm trees.

As we hiked further in, the valley walls ascended quickly to heights of over 700ft. It was unreal. We reached our second river crossing and once again went to flip flop mode. By this time, we noticed the sun slowly setting in the valley. It was around 9pm with no sign of camp. 

Unbenounced to the team, Bernard had forgotten to pack his sandals from the car and had been going barefoot in the gravelly river bed. This took a great toll on his stamina and morale. After the second crossing, we had to hit the gas pedal.

As the sun set, head lamps were set on and we continued to hike in the dark. Fatigue set in and the river crossings became unbearable for the shoeless. Liz offered her sandals to Bernard which were quickly swept away in the fast moving river, Oops. Now with two barefoot people, we were nearly stranded in the river bed. My father and I held ground in a sandy part of the rock river bed, meanwhile Liz and Mark decided to scout ahead and see if the camp could be found. They promised to return within a half hour while Bernard and myself started to make camp setting up tents and eat a very unsettling meal while the other half ventured in the dark.

We waited nervously and finally saw faint lights in the dark shining on the canyon walls. I left our makeshift camp and thankfully found the two troopers worn and tired with no sign of their quarry. Our group of four, now reunited, rested under the stars on a partly cloudy night with faint glowworms on the cave walls hundreds of feet above. Minor successes.

In the morning we broke camp to head out of the valley. As we doned gear, an older couple walked by and proclaimed that the ballroom was only a few minutes walk up stream. The scouts had completely missed it in the darkness. Regardless, we dragged ourselves out of the jungle towards the car park. As we came to the mid point, we passed a sign for a 30minute walk to a cave nearby. We mustered the energy to follow the path and quickly learned that the estimated time of 30minutes was for Usain Bolt on the fast track at the Olympics. With 50lb packs still on, we climbed slippery moss covered rocks until we reached the cave entrance an hour and a half later. At that point, we barely wanted to enter the cave but we put our head `torches` on and discovered some good old calcite deposits (stalagtites\stalagmites) within. Packs back on, we headed to the car park and got the hell out of dodge.

While on the road to Franz Josef Glacier via SH6 (our next destination) we stopped at a roadside attraction called Pancake Rocks, an amazing series of jutting rocks on the coastline which featured pancake like stacks. The actual process was formed from layers of hard and soft oceanic deposits overtime with the soft being eroded away. The worn rocks cast a very dramatic setting for the west coast of NZ.

Once done with the Pancake Rocks, we continued south down the coast to the town of Franz Josef Glacier, a stopping point on our tour. That night, we slept very well. The next morning, we woke up, packed our bags and spent a few hours walking to the base of the glacier which had greatly receeded since the early 2000's; so much so that hiking to the glacier is no longer possible and can only be toured via helicopter. 

We appreciated it from a distance and then enjoyed the walk back to the car for our next leg of the trip to Queenstown. Before we reached our destination, we came across a huge glacial river bed with EVERY stone perfect for skipping. They were all smooth circular rocks and so naturally it became a competition; with the view and atmosphere, I think we were all winners.

Additionally, we passed a 2 minute hike to see some waterfalls but when we got there, it was the enormous amount of stone stacks that were erected in the river bed; one of which was just about as tall as me!

Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ which hosts multiple companies that let you parasail, paraglide, skydive, bungee jump, zip line, jet boat, mtn bike. . . Etc. Keep reading the next post to see which wild and crazy stunts we chose to throw our bodies into!!!