We stopped off overnight at Ross, another small ex-gold mining town. It was Arnaud's birthday so we went to the local pub (we were also camping in their backyard) for a few beers. The five locals drinking their were very friendly and got chatting with us. We got an invite from one lady who ran a moss farm. Moss farm?? Well it appears since it is so damp here they grow moss, dry it out in sheds then ship it to Japan for Orchid farms! Apparently the moss stops bugs.
Nat along the west coast
After Ross we headed toward the Glaciers at Franz Joseph. We had two days of solid rain before arriving at Franz Joseph wondering if we would even see the glaciers. Well we couldnt see them from a distance but we decided to do a glacier walk. By now the rain was driving down but we paid our $95 and put on all the wet weather gear provided by the guides and walked up the valley. The rain wasnt too bad because we could still see most of the glacier but after 5 hours walking we were all wet to the bones. Apparently it rains here 290 days a year!!! The glaciers were very impressive and we felt very insignificant compared to their size and activeness (there were lost of rocks falling around us!!)
By now we had three days in a row of rain and we woke up to more rain. We were still camping but the tent was holding up just. But packing away and putting up a wet tent everyday is not fun. Nat also started to get a bit of a cold but was battling away.
Lunch at a lake on the one sunny day!
After Franz, we headed further down the coast on the way to Haast. The day into Haast was stunning, blue sky and quite warm, a welcome relief! For this part of the ride we were close to the coast so had some stunning views of the coast and the southern alps.
Now we have cycling buddies we have photos of the two of us!!
Overall we had 5 wet days and one sunny day on the west coast, but the glaciers were fantastic!
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