A fair amount of people I had travelled with down to Queenstown were leaving this morning, although many people were also staying 3 nights in Franz Josef like me. The people in my room were all leaving today and the fact the bus was leaving at 7.30 meant I was woken up relatively early. I was pretty glad they were leaving to be honest because they had their own kind of party in the room last night when I just wanted to sleep because I felt awful. By the time they left this morning I had the room to myself, although they had left me empty bottles which looked bad on me now, as byo is not allowed in hostels licensed to sell alcohol.
I just ignored it all and went downstairs where I did myself scrambled egg for breakfast, and after a nice refreshing shower I packed a bag and went out for a walk. I yesterday said there were many walks in the Franz Josef area, and I had my eyes on the mammoth 8 hour one today which was basically described as suitable for experienced trampers only. I thought I fitted the bill, and the description seemed even more impressive saying you got glacial and even coastal views when up top. Named the Alex Knob track, it was basically a walk which started from the glacier car park which meant I had a 5km walk just to get to the walk in the first place!
Leaving by about 8.15, I stopped off at the supermarket to make sure I had a proper lunch picking up a sandwich and cookie to go with my crisps and apples I already had. I also checked everything with the free WiFi, sitting in the bus stop before following the road out of the village to the glacier car park. I ended up arriving at the turn off for the track by about 9, which was in fact nowhere near the car park which made a shorter walk for me. It was then time to start my ascent up the mountain, simply having views in my head to try and stop my nasty cough I had. The walk itself was basically up a path and then back the same way.
After following this well laid out gravel track which climbed at a gentle pace, I soon arrived at a turn off for Lake Wombat. I remember seeing the sign here which said 7.1km in 3.5 hours. When doing the maths I just thought that it was either very generous, or the walk was very tough. I soon found out it was the latter as I climbed up these steep rocks on a far more dense wooded path. Many of them gave way, and after having to hoist myself up on many occasions pulling on vines, I reached this more defined path which really confused me as it looked like it came the way I should of come. I just discounted this and continued on up.
I left a tracking signal at the turn off from the main path, and following this more defined path I continued up through the woodland in a zig zag manner. It was like this for a fair while, and every so often I would have to stop and find a way to pass these steep sections either made from tree roots or rocks. Despite being classed as a rainforest environment, it felt more like woodland with lots of ferns and vines within the densely wooded forest on the hillside. It wasn't long before I got my first proper viewpoint, looking over at the glacier I yesterday climbed. I also passed the first fellow people climbing the path, tanking past them to keep up my momentum.
Passing another glacier viewpoint, the path began to get slightly muddy and slippery in places, although this didn't stop my moderate pace as I began to get more confident climbing the steep sections, which at some I was now just jumping! After a while of more climbing through the woodland, the path started to open out more and I got my first views of the coast including the river flowing out to sea. It was very deceiving on this section as it kept looking as if I was as the top, then another one of these poles would appear on the now grassy hill top surrounding the narrow and rocky track. It wasn't long before I made it onto a ridge, and I then finally saw a sign in the distance which meant I had made it up top!
At 1303m above sea level, I had climbed the hill in little over 2.5 hours which was only at a moderate pace. I purposely got my gps here to check the altitude which said 1299m which proves it is a pretty accurate little device! I also saw some people up top although they left quickly, so I settled down for lunch. The views were amazing being able to see in all directions from the glacier and mountain tops to the Franz Josef village and coast. Whilst up here someone else came up and we got some photos, although he said he ran up in less than 2 hours to have a nap.
In the end I spent a good 45 minutes up top taking in the stunning views, before heading back down the same way which was slightly precarious in places with the mud and slippery rocks. It was a quick descent in the end only taking around 2 hours, and after following the rock back past the river I arrived back to the village by around 3. When doing the descent however I missed the steep bit I did at the beginning of the ascent, instead following a well defined path all the way down which confused me. After going via the visitor centre I headed straight back to the hostel where I had a nap because I felt physically drained. Franz is a low lying village and I climbed most of them metres, and felt it in my legs coming down such an altitude so quickly!
Waking back up at around 5, I decided to use my free voucher for the hot pools opposite my hostel. Set in the rainforest, this complex consisted of 3 hot pools of varying temperatures. At 36, 38 and 40 degrees there was a noticeable difference between all the pools, although 38 was my optimum temperature. I almost fell asleep relaxing in this outdoor complex, although I had to go eventually so I could have dinner and everything.
When returning to the hostel, dinner this evening was a potato and spinach curry with rice. It was funny watching these people make cornflake cakes opposite though who were doing it all wrong. I didn't say anything though, mainly because I was losing my voice. I then had a long session on the WiFi, although I had to eventually leave as the sandflys were really annoying seeing as I was outside. It was then the same old story whereby I just relaxed in the hostel before bed.
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