Old Franz Jozef

The bus drive wasn’t too bad. The driver (called Romeo) made a lot of stops and told us all we needed to know about certain areas. Driving past the west-coast is insanely beautiful. It’s literally driving on the road which is a couple of meters away from the waves, I could almost taste the sea! Romeo kept talking about how our hostel for tonight was the best hostel he’d ever slept in. It was called the ‘rainforest retreat’ because of course it was based in a rainforest. And that’s exactly why the glacier is so spectacular, it’s extremely rare to find a glacier in the middle of a rainforest. We arrived at the retreat and I understood what Romeo was talking about. A huge domain with its own bar, sauna and hot tub! Ehm…yes please! Some of the girls from the bus invited me to share a dorm with them, which was really kind. I dropped my bags and immediately went to the sauna while they prepared themselves for ‘pizza fest’. The bar had organized a buffet of all ‘you can eat pizza’ for the busses that would stay overnight. We all got some beers and played a shitload of games that night, it was cozy! While everybody was regretting their hangover I woke up really early to go for a walk. A lot of the people had booked a helicopter glacier hike but I decided to just do the free walk that would almost take me up there too. The walk was only 1.5 hours and would take you 750 meters from the beginning of the glaciers, which is amazing! But it would take you an hour walk from town to the beginning of the track. Luckily I was ready to do a good morning hike! The weather had cleared once I got to the beginning of the track and there was almost no one to be seen. A smooth and beautiful walk which gives a magical feeling once you get to the glacier! Although I had to make a little bit of a ‘move on’ for my appointment at 12… I was going to do a workshop of Greenstone carving! Throughout this whole journey in New Zeeland I’ve always been fascinated by the Jade (or Pounamu) stone. Old Maori traditions say that you can only receive a stone from someone else and that you can’t buy it yourself. But I felt like it would make my journey complete. I’ve always wanted one but never had the opportunity of receiving it. I asked some locals whether it was a bad thing to make my own greenstone necklace, but their answer was appealing. Apparently if you come from a Maori tribe, the tradition is very important. But a lot of kiwi residents make themselves stones. They say that as long the stone means something to you and you put effort in actually carving your own, it’s allowed to give it to yourself. So I felt like this was my chance, I can’t leave New Zealand without a greenstone! It was a cute little workshop place at the back of a jade gallery. At first you got to pick your own raw piece of greenstone. You could choose between big ones, small ones, light colored ones, darker ones… all sort of greenstone! After that you could make it in your own shape. A lot of people put some effort in changing the shape, but not me. I had found myself a beautiful piece, cut in a particular shape through nature. That’s exactly how I wanted it, just untouched… The workshop guide gave me a strange look but just accepted it. ‘Another one who wants to be special’ he probably thought. Until I asked him if I could carve something in the stone. He said that he could make a spiral or something if I’d like, but I wanted to carve something myself. If there’s one word that describes my physical and mental journey in New Zealand, it’s balance. The sun and the moon, just as I had in my tattoo. So that’s what I wanted in my greenstone. I think the guide found me a pain in the ass, but not like I cared. This greenstone meant way too much for me! And I absolutely loved the result!

Getting back to the retreat, I just wanted to let my body relax in the sauna and the hot tub. I made some tea and chilled out in the dorm. The other girls had claimed the bottom beds first, so I was laying pretty uncomfortable on the top bad. It had been a while! I just relaxed, read my book and went to bed. One of the things I absolutely love in the morning, is to just get out of bed earlier then everyone else. Especially when you’re travelling in a big group. It gives the opportunity to have a cup of tea in full silence, while watching mother earth wake up… All before getting on a noisy bus again. Our next destination was Wanaka, where I had sold my car a week before. We stopped for lunch at ‘Ships Creek beach’ and went sightseeing at Fox Glacier before hitting the road again. At around 4 in the afternoon we arrived in Wanaka. I said goodbye to the group and settled in one of the cute little cafes. It wasn’t my first time in Wanaka, but I really enjoy the town. It’s definitely in my top three places to live in New Zealand. Instead of booking a hostel, I had made some contact with ‘Jamie’ through couch surfing. He was going to host me for two days in Wanaka! So much nicer to stay with locals than to stay in a crappy hostel again. So I spent some time in the café, waiting for him to pick me up after work.