NZ - Franz Josef (Glacier & Superhero)

Today was an early start because I had to be at the glacier place by 9:15a. I got up, got ready, and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. I sat with my hostel mates and the others from the back of the bus to eat and we chatted a bit. Afterwards I saw one of the girls (Iki from Germany) I knew in my glacier (the way they pronounce glacier sounds so cool - the "c" has more of an "s" sound) group and asked if she wanted to meet by reception so we could walk together so we did. We were about 20 minutes early, so we just hung around and as other girls showed up we chatted and got to know each other a bit more until it was time to begin.

Janna, our tour guide, is from the Czech Republic. She was really cool and really nice and I knew right away she was going to make this awesome. We got suited up - over trousers, thick wool socks, boots, rain coat, bum bag (fanny pack, but fanny means something else here so they don't call it that), and crampons (in the the bag). The guys behind the counters and helping out were having a ball playing around with my accent. I didn't mind though. It was pretty funny. It was a pretty overcast and a bit chilly as we headed to the helipads, but at least it wasn't raining because then our trip would have been cancelled (like a few of the trips after mine). While waiting for the helicopter we learned how to put our crampons on and had a heli safety lesson then headed to the heli pads to wait. Janna picked the two groups that would be flying and I got in the first group which I was hoping for because I wanted extra time to get my crampons on and take pictures of the helicopter on the ice. Not only did I get the first group but the helicopter guy put me in the front so I had a fantastic aerial view of the glacier and mountains.

The glacier was massive and made you feel super tiny. It was dirtier than I expected, but it makes sense seeing as how it is between two mountains.

It took a little while to get used to the crampons, but without them the trek would have been impossible. The activity required way more physical exertion than I had anticipated - especially the stair climbing. The stairs were massive for someone with short legs like me. About half way through I decided it was a good thing it was cloudy because I was sweating and could only imagine how hot I would be if it was sunny.

Our guide was really good in telling us about certain aspects of the glacier - its formation, its melting, the color, the size, etc. She also let us stop several times for photos - in the blue caves, at the top, with her ice pick, etc. Luckily, us girls were pretty good about helping each other get photos of each other in/on the ice.

Where the green starts is where the glacier was in 2008

The blue color of the ice was one of my favorite parts about the whole thing. Seeing that color blue somewhere other than the sky seems so unnatural - beautiful and cool, but not normal. The white and blue of the glacier against the dark colors of the mountains was a cool contrast. It was also cool to see valleys in the mountains while looking down a valley in the ice.

Another one of my favorite parts were the caves and narrow passageways. It really felt like an ice exploring excursion rather than just a leisurely walk on the glacier. You see people doing this kind of stuff in documentaries, movies, etc, but it was cool to actually get to do it myself. I also liked the narrow crevices that I sometimes had to walk one foot on either side to keep from falling in - just kind of added to the sense of adventure.

Once we made it back down to the bottom we removed our crampons and waited for the helicopter. I sat in the back this time to allow girls who hadn't had the chance to sit up front yet sit up front (although their view wasn't as cool). We got back, got back into our regular clothes/shoes, and said thanks and good-bye. On the walk home I was thinking to myself how glad I was that I decided not to go sky diving because not only did the couple who had chosen to, not get to go sky diving (because of the weather) but the rest of the glacier trips for the day were cancelled so they didn't get to do that either. When I got back my hostel mates and the others from the back of the bus were sitting at a table just inside the kitchen and when they saw me they shouted excitedly, "Nikki!!", and they all smiled at me and asked me questions about my experience, cancellations, etc. I couldn't believe that I had just met these people 12 hours ago and it already seemed like we were the greatest of friends. We all made lunch and while eating talked about our climbs and the superhero party at the on-site bar tonight, trying to figure out what to be and how to be it. The plans for after lunch were the hot pools, but I realized I left my water bottle at the glacier guides place, so I had to walk back there. The girls offered to wait for me, but I told them to go on ahead and I'd meet them there. During my walk I saw a basket with a sign that said, "Jandles" and a price. I couldn't help but smile because this is so New Zealand. Jandles are what they call flip flops, what Australia calls thongs.

I made it back to the hostel, got ready, and headed to the hot pools which were just across the street pretty much. When I got there, they all hollered my name and waved for me to come over. I don't think I've ever been excepted by a group of strangers so quickly. It was really cool and I am so grateful for the fast friendships. We all hung out in there (my hostel mates and the people from the back of the bus) for quite a bit and then a couple other girls from our bus (the ones in my glacier group) showed up and hung out for a while. Everyone but me, the guy from Essex (Dan), and the girls from my glacier group left after awhile to get showered and ready for dinner and the superhero night. I left a little while after them because I still needed to make my costume. Using brochures and the clothes in my suitcase I made a bat girl costume. I also paid for 15 minutes of internet just to quickly update my mom and dad. Then I went and had dinner (nachos) at the on-site restaurant before returning to my hostel room. I sat in the bed balancing my budget and taking notes on the day when one of the girls asked if I was coming with them tonight and although I had made my costume I just still wasn't too keen on going as we all know the bar isn't really my scene. They said I definitely didn't have to drink to come out with them and that I really should come even if just for a little bit, so I gave in, got dressed, got my "costume" together and went out with the girls.

The boys showed up about 20 minutes after us. It took awhile for the costumes to come out, but after about an hour more people were dressed up than not. The music at this bar was weird... it was like techno, house music or something, not really sure, but it was hard to dance to, so I spent most of my time chatting with people who also didn't want to dance or were taking a break from dancing. I got a lot of compliments on my impromptu bat girl costume. The girls were sky diving superheros, Dan (guy from Essex) was Woody, the girl from Holland was Jane, one guy (not with our bus) had a toilet seat on his head and Iki (German girl from our bus) was a tattoo parlor girl... so they weren't all really super heroes, but at least they were creative. There was one guy though that was the hulk and painted his entire body green, which was freaky and cool.

About halfway through the night this guy, Rom, (travelling with Stray, but not on our bus) and I had been talking for about 20-30 minutes or so. I told the girls I was going to the next room over that was lit, was a bit cooler, and the music wasn't as loud because I just needed a short break from it all. There were people in the room and all it was just a lot more chill than the other one. Well, Rom followed me and we continued chatting about a little bit of everything and out of nowhere, in the middle of me talking about the fact that I used to play musical instruments he kissed me. As soon as I realized what was happening I pushed him away and said, "No!", like he was a bad dog or something, which seemed fitting. He was like, "What do you mean? What's wrong?" So I told the stupid idiot off and walked back into the room where my new friends were. I told the girls what happened and they were shocked and confirmed my feelings of disgust and being appalled. For the rest of the night the girls (one of the ones from Denmark in particular) would come pull me away if he came over to me or would stand really close to me on the dance floor if he tried to dance near me. They were always checking to make sure I was okay and that he hadn't tried again or anything. One time when 2 of the boys from our group (the 2 from Essex) were dancing with me she checked on me just to make sure I was comfortable with it, because if not she would happily pull me away. Again, I was grateful for such quick, strong friendships. He finally got the message and left me alone entirely. Shortly after he realized it wasn't going to happen, I saw him chatting up another girl from our bus for quite some time. I forgot about it and the next thing I knew the girl came from around the corner of the room that I had been in previously and then came and told everyone goodnight and left. I had a hunch he pulled the same thing with her, so after telling the girls I was going to head out, I left as well.

As I was getting ready for bed I found the girl (Jay) in the bathroom also getting ready for bed and I asked her about Rom. She confirmed that I was right in my hunch and I told her that he pulled the same thing with me before her. She had the same reaction towards him and told him off as well. We chatted about it for a bit and then said goodnight. I went into my room to finish getting ready for bed, went downstairs to grab a snack, and hang out with Bully for a bit. By the time I got back to the room I was only there for a few minutes before the girls showed up. I told them what I had seen with Jay and what she and I had talked about and they couldn't believe it. They were just as disgusted as I was and from there out we all shared a mutual disgust and dislike for the guy. The girls all got ready for bed and we shut out the lights to sleep, but not before Haley (from London) had us all practically rolling out of bed from laughter since she had a bit more to drink than expected at the bar... This was the first of many crazy, fun, late, memorable nights to come.