It was a bright and sunny day, so we went flying!! We chose a 40 minute helicopter flight with Glacier Helicopters, which took us over the two glaciers Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier which included a crossing over the main divide between the West Coast and Canterbury. We were rewarded with clear views of the highest peak in New Zealand - Mt Cook at 3,754 metres high and the second highest - Mt Tasman at 3,498 metres high. We also had great views of the Tasman Glacier, the largest glacier in the world outside the polar regions.
We made a landing on a snow field at the top of Fox Glacier and enjoyed the views of the surrounding mountains and towards the west down the steep glacier. We are soon loaded back into the Helicopter for the return flight to Franz Josef.
After a brief break in Franz Josef we begin our journey towards Kumara Junction and over Arthurs Pass which is a mountain pass through the Southern Alps. We navigate the impressive Otira Viaduct which spans 440 metres of unstable terrain in the pass then travel through thick fog until we reach the Canterbury Plains - now we are back on the East Coast of the South Island.
We continued on until we reached the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch, and pulled in to a rest area beside Lake Forsyth. As we pulled in and were looking for a place to park, we were waved down by an english couple. Unfortunately as nice as the location was, they explained that they had just had a couple of unusual men knocking on all sides of their camper wanting to enter. The couple looked pretty spooked and were planning to move away from the location. Fortunately because we'd recently camped on the peninsula we knew of a campground a little off the beaten track but at least safe, so we lead the way. It is a good idea to camp where other campers are especially when freedom camping (safety in numbers) so we didn't hesitate to leave the lake side for a more safe option as well. The campground is called Birdlands Habitat Trust and Holiday Park and is located in the Okuti Valley near Little River. When arriving late at night the camp fee of $10 per person is payable on an honesty basis and can be deposited into the box provided.
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| Author: | Michelle Coats | ||
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