Today I awoke to the brushing branches against our little
two man tent nestled under a small grouping of trees. It had been rained last
night but nature’s canopy had kept us fairly dry even through what had sounded
like fairly heavy winds. This morning would not be like others we would
experience on the trip; this morning, due to the stormy conditions in the Haast
Pass we would be catching an intercity coach and skipping past two of our spot
to ox Glacier. We had some time to kill so we awoke, made some breakfast, and
took down camp keeping our bike unburdened so we could throw them on the bus.
After packing up we awaited our time to meet the bus at the café attached to
the campground/ everything in Makarora. As we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and
peppermint tea we saw the storm start to unfold itself in front of our eyes. A
little while after sitting a group of ‘bikies’ strolled up to the bar soaking
wet having just finished the ride through the pass that we were heading head
first into, though fortunately by way of coach this time.
As the hour approached where we
would meet our fateful steed we gathered the bikes and stood open to the
elements waiting. After a very wet thirty minutes the bus arrived and much to
our excitement had enough room for us and the bikes. As the bus slowly began
climbing out of the valley and into Haast Pass, which I learned from our bus
driver had been named after a British explorer who stole the route from the
native Mauri and claimed to have discovered it himself, I noticed the hard push
of the wind and the continuous down pour occurring our safe haven (bus). It was
at this point I decided to be happy with our decisions and stop focusing on
cool rides I might be missing out on. It also helped when the bus driver
explained that in the Haast Pass it rained an average of 6m a year… The rest of
the bus ride passed much of the same way with stunning rainforest on both side
and torrential downpour all around. About an hour out from Fox Glacier we
stopped at a small Chinook salmon farm where I treated myself to a homemade
scone with homemade jam and whipped cream. The salmon from the farm is sold
throughout the south island and is apparently some of the tastier and
environmentally friendly options in New Zealand.
After another hour on the bus we
arrived at the small town of Fox Glacier and were left in the pouring rain to
reassemble our bikes and push them up the hill to a backpackers hostel where we
decided to spend our night. Many of the towns we will be stopping at along this
now shorter west coast will have limited connection to the outside world. But
for now Brian and I are headed for a little evening exploration of what Fox
Glacier has to offer and maybe a little hot tub after. Day 3 200km down… by
bus.
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