Note the sign which is usually for roadworks. It says that the middle part of my route (Haast to Lake Moeraki) is closed if I don’t get through it by 12 noon from Makarora (where I stayed).
The route was gorgeous, with mountains,
waterfalls (I stopped at Fantail Falls
where people had built many little cairns on a rock outcrop
and I took a photo of the moss growing along the road
and Thunder Creek falls)
but not at the others - I had a road to catch. I couldn’t avoid stopping to photograph this snow.
I reached the coast, and had a look around. The Haast river reached the sea
and I visited the beach, which had lots of driftwood.
I had reached the area that would close soon. After a while, I passed the landslide that was causing the road to be completely closed every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon until April, and the workers were preparing to start.
Soon after, I stopped at this beautiful piece of coast.
Eventually, I reached the Fox Glacier Trail. The trail goes for four kilometres, and eventually you can see the glacier in the far distance.
The trail has a lot of tree ferns and moss.
There’s a side trail where you walk along the moraine, which was quite good, but all the stones in the moraine are covered in moss, so I think most people would have difficulty finding the moraine itself.
The glacier was here in 1750, but has retreated several kilometres since then.
After being somewhat disappointed with Fox Glacier Trail, I was a glutton for punishment, and walked the trail to Franz Joseph Glacier, a bit further up the road. Here, you walk to the extent of the glacier in 1908, and try to see the glacier, which has retreated 3,000 metres away. There are a lot of waterfalls on this trail.
They were both nice walks. In the end, I reached my destination for the night! It was a spectacular day, and the accommodation is very good too!
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