Fox Glacier to Pleasant Flat DOC
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2010
1
30
39
Trip End
Oct 30, 2010
Where I stayed
DOC campground Pleasant Flats
Makarora, Otago, New Zealand
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The sun was shining when we woke up. Didn't bother doing anything in the kitchen. Set off at the crack of 9:30 for Lake Matheson, the "mirror lake", which supposedly reflects Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. We figured that was just clever marketing, as Lake Matheson is just a marshy little lake with a fairly long path around it.
Had a great flat white at the cafe and a visit to the Gift Shop (Tim bought stuff, Claire didn't) then off to the Fox Glacier, which was quite amazing.
The paths up to the glacier are changed according to the conditions of ice, water, rain, etc. The glacier is visible from the car park, but the paths lead up to the terminal moraine.
Claire decided against going over the last stream. Tim got lots of pictures. On the way back to the car park picked up some green stones which might be (but probably aren't) jade or greenstone. Anyway, they are pretty.Had some lunch in the campervan, not inviting the keas.
After lunch, set off for Haast, thinking we might stay there or make it to Markara.
The lady at the Haast Visitors Centre suggested we might want to stay at the Pleasant Flats DOC campsite.
By the time we got here, we were both really tired, so it was not hard to decide to stay - $6.00 per person, flush toilets, running water. In addition, beautiful scenery - mountains all around, lakes in front, forest behind, almost full moon. This site reminded Claire of family camping in provincial parks, where every site had a bit of vegetative buffer around it.
