Big Fat Mountains!!!!! and Franz Josef Glacier!

I'm aware the hat is ridiculous.
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Helloooooo!

Whoa....BIG FAT MOUNTAINS! I love em...can't get enough and there really are plenty to choose from around here. Got the Tranz Alpine railway over the Southern Alps which is meant to be one of the most scenic journeys in the world...and errrrmmm, yep it was great but I've seen better than that since just being on the bus.

The best thing about that journey was actually the company as I managed to get sat with some lovely and hilarious people. A couple in their 60's/70's who kept taking the mick out of eachoher and a lovely Maorie lady. They gave me chocolate...think they thought I was a poor backpacker in need of sustinance. In fact I will be a poor backpacker soon as Mum has informed me of my bank ballance...ruined my day quite frankly!

Me in a worm hole...lota fun.
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Arrived in Franz Joseph in the anoon and set about one of my hobbies i.e. collecting leaflets. These take time to ponder when you've arrived in a new town and I've discovered the best way to do this is over a beer. So as I sat outside a nice little alpine bar surrounded by snowy mountains deciding what I'm going to do the next day I really thought it doesn't come much better than this. I really am the luckiest sod on the face of the Earth to be able to do this thing and I can't get over it sometimes.

This is Franz Joseph Glacier..in the sun... before it started raining.
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I have now collected enough leaflets to fill the Albert Hall and have had to start organising them into order of area and activity. You see what happens when you don't have a job...you start turning into Monica out of Friends!!!

Wed 27th Sept

Up early next day for chosen activity... Full Day Guided Hike on Franz Jopseph Glacier complete with crampons and ice pick. Yes folks, I had my very own ice pick and I have no idea why this tickles me so much but it does.

Immediately met some new mates, Alve and Mark from...you've guessed it...Ireland. Are there any people left in Ireland or are they all here? Also met some likely lads from Leeds who kept me amused all day with extracts from Billy Connoly rutines.

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The ice was amazing, ghostly blue shapes, it was like being in another world. However...it did start to rain a couple of hours in and that's when ice becomes just a lot of frozen water. There was a lot of standing around whilst the guides cut steps in the harder to climb areas and that meant serious cold...we're talking swimming with dolphins cold! Incidently the guides all seemed to have mullet haircuts which was unusual I thought. Perhaps a micro fashion out here in the mountains, bit like a micro climate I suppose.

Anyhoo, was a great day but I will not be doing that agian until global warming really kicks in...which is when the glacier will have melted anyhow!

That night the new pals insisted on taking me out for my bday and we had a suprisingly civilised evening. This is not the norm where the Irish are concerned and I was shocked the Leeds lads didn't go off the deep end either. Was great to have a nice chatty and amusing evening with some really interesting people. Although I did get locked out of my backpackers when we went home and had to sleep on the sofa in the place next door, waking up on my 31st bday in my clothes and jumping the fence at 5.30 in the morning to get back in. Mum,you didn't hear that OK?