October 29th and 30th – The Rangitata to Franz Joseph

I have just returned from the hostel complex bar in Franz Joseph on the East side of New Zealand’s South island to write this entry. The air outside is cool and biting, but not a winter cold. It is crisp and ever present; a product of an environment unique to only 2 places in the world, an area where a glacier meets a temperate rainforest. The foliage outside is lush and green for after all it is spring, but tomorrow ill strap spikes on my boots and hike a river of ice.

Yesterday I had my first outdoor adventure on the other side of the island near Christchurch. I went whitewater rafting on the Rangitata River. It was an early start to the day as my transport to the river met me at 7:15. I was met by terrible weather; a moderate rain and chilly breeze. I was one of about 10 rafters, a handful of Brits, an Aussie and a group of flight and cabin crew from Singapore airlines. We made the 2 hour journey to base camp. I realized on the way home from the trip that the beautiful country we were driving through was sullied by the heavy fog and rain. However, as we arrived the weather began to clear paving the way for a great day outdoors. The location was amazing. The river flowed through a gorge surrounded by green hills with snow peaked mountains towering in the distance. This was the site of the castle at Isengard from the Lord of the Rings the Two Towers. The river we rafted can be seen in the movie.

We took some time to get all geared up as the river is icy cold all year round. We were in full wetsuit; it felt and smelled like scuba diving, but this was a different kind of experience. The Rangitata is supposed to be the most consistently good river in the whole of New Zealand for rafting; an excellent mix of difficulty (includes 2 category 5 rapids), length(nearly 3 hours on the water) and scenery. We had a few laughs including flipping our boat for practice into the freezing water before the first obstacles, having a few good screams during the more intense sections and cliff jumping from a height of 10 meters into the river below. In between hard paddling and screaming I just had to have a look at the amazing countryside surrounding me to feel great about where I was and what I was doing. After several hours on the water we returned to base for a hot shower and a BBQ.

On the ride back to Christchurch, everyone on the bus struggled with their exhaustion and many fell to sleep missing out on much of the scenery we had that was hidden on the way out. I didn’t know that this ride would pale in comparison to the ride I would have today on the way across the South Island.

I returned to the hostel and resisted the urge to fall straight into bed. I handled some internet business and headed down to the bar to meet some acquaintances and try to be social. After a few hours of tame revelry I headed to sleep. I had a bus to catch at 8:15 the next morning.