20DEC2019 – DAY 7: THE LULL

I woke up early this morning to double check that I had packed my suitcase with everything I had taken out of it over the 4 days spent in Queenstown. After confirming I had all of my belongings accounted for, I brought my bag outside and waited in the cool New Zealand breeze as everyone else slowly began trickling in around the area I was sitting. When the tour bus pulled up we all boarded and began the long ride to Franz Josef. A few days prior there was a section of the road that had been washed away which had been notified as being resolved allowing continued travel to the area. We made our first stop at Wanaka for a bite to eat, and it was here that we (unintentionally) befriended several packs of ducks (and a few Canada geese). What started with a few dropped crumbs ended with several of the group members running away from the birds which outnumbered us by approximately 10 to 1. Those ducks were fearless as they didn’t mind stepping over our feet in their search for more crumbs. After escaping the ducks, we were given a brief overview of New Zealand history and culture by our tour group leader. Then, we watched a New Zealand comedy movie: Hunt For The Wilderpeople. Once the movie ended, we made a stop at Thunder Creek Falls in Haast to take some pictures and stretch our legs. This roaring waterfall was a hidden gem located along Haast River off of a small path through a relatively thick forest. After the brief stop, we got back on the bus and finished making our way to Franz Josef at around 3:00PM. I headed off for a kayaking activity with about a quarter of the tour group who had also signed up for it. We made our way to the starting area with the activity tour guide where we were explained how to maneuver a tandem kayak. I had only ever done solo kayaking before so it felt a bit strange to operate the boat as a functioning unit with the other member. Sitting in the back of the boat, I was in charge of the steering via the rudder (which felt quite awkward to do by foot). Out on the glacial lake, the view was incredible as the water was so still it mirrored the towering mountains surrounding us in its reflection. Once finished, we made our way back to the rest of the group in town for dinner where I ate an entire loaf of garlic bread since the meal options were vegetarian or pork, neither of which I eat for different reasons. After dinner, I went for a relaxing walk around the perimeter of the town and then eventually made my way back to my room to get ready for bed.