This morning we booked our glacier tour in Franz Joseph but before we got our bus to that destination we booked another tour. The replica 1880s West Coast gold-mining settlement of Shanty Town was our destination. Our tour guide wore John Wayne like cloths but he was far from a quite man. He smiled like Jack Nicholson as he cracked a few jokes and kept yapping. In fairness to the guy he was very knowledgeable and was more than helpful to us. Shanty Town boasts over 30 buildings with hundreds of trade and general use from the gold mining era of the 1860’s, as well as the Gold Panning and Steam Train. After grabbing a quick caramel square, we got the steam train ride which runs through native bush. We stopped for a short while at the top of the track for photo’s and a closer look at the engine which looked like it was about to fall apart, never mind the train!!! On the way back we took a short bush walk to the town via the gold claim. Sage prospectors helped us pan for gold in salted tanks. It is a long process but worth it to see the little bits of gold at the end of the pan which you can keep as a souvenir. Points of interest were the 1902 Coronation Hall from Ross, the 1865 church originally from No Town in Grey Valley, and the hotel cobbled together from parts. We also noticed the printing shop with its faded billboards advertising the latest films. A mock prison was also on view where we did our best to reconstruct Prison Break but unfortunately we couldn’t get poor Lincoln Burrows out….Scofield would have been ashamed of us!!! The bush walks allowed us to stroll some of the well groomed tracks. It is said that the enveloping native rain forest calms the nerves and soothes the soul… I wouldn’t go that far!!
The tour guide gave us a few tips on what to do during the glacier tour tomorrow. He said to wear a good few pairs of underwear. I explained to him that backpackers don’t have a “good few pairs of underwear”. He dropped us off at the bus station and we headed for Franz Joseph which was four hours away. It was teaming down with rain and by the time we arrived in the hostel named “Chateau Franz” (ooooh la la), it was quite dark so we had no real view of the mountains and glaciers which is probably a good thing because it will make for a more exciting trip tomorrow. Its a nice hostel and all the people seem quite friendly but Franz Joseph is a quite place with just accommodation as its main attraction are the glaciers with another glacier called “Fox glacier” roughly a half an hour away. As we had to be up by seven we had a quick reminisce about our South America adventure as we uploaded photos and hit the hay earlier as we are sure to be in for a different kind of adventure in the morning.
Yeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwww
Gary
The tour guide gave us a few tips on what to do during the glacier tour tomorrow. He said to wear a good few pairs of underwear. I explained to him that backpackers don’t have a “good few pairs of underwear”. He dropped us off at the bus station and we headed for Franz Joseph which was four hours away. It was teaming down with rain and by the time we arrived in the hostel named “Chateau Franz” (ooooh la la), it was quite dark so we had no real view of the mountains and glaciers which is probably a good thing because it will make for a more exciting trip tomorrow. Its a nice hostel and all the people seem quite friendly but Franz Joseph is a quite place with just accommodation as its main attraction are the glaciers with another glacier called “Fox glacier” roughly a half an hour away. As we had to be up by seven we had a quick reminisce about our South America adventure as we uploaded photos and hit the hay earlier as we are sure to be in for a different kind of adventure in the morning.
Yeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwww
Gary
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