Day 9 - All the feels

Harihari to Fox Glacier

After a relatively flat few days following the west coast of NZ, we started to head inland. Our goal for the day was the town of Fox Glacier. It’s right next to the Fox Glacier.

Leaving Harihari

An easy start

The riding from Harihari started off easy enough. Sunday morning here so the roads were super quiet and with the low cloud we settled into our predictable riding style. Hovering around 20k/hr and letting the miles melt by. Unfortunately by kilometer 7 the miles started solidifying and it was our legs that were melting as we began our first of major climb of the day. In retrospect, it was not a big hill but first thing in the morning we felt it. After cresting the saddle at 140 or so of elevation we descended the other side for a bit of steady riding towards Franz Josef.

Low cloud and quiet roads

The first glacier

Today is a story of hills and mountains. The riding along the coast has always had this ominous mountain range to the east and today it became much more part of our story. Leaving the coast we were heading into them thar hills and that meant more climbing. The first major milestone was the town of Franz Josef which sits by its eponymously named glacier. From all reports the glacier has retreated such that the side trip was not worthwhile on a bike. This stop was really all about refueling anyway since we had bigger hills to climb.

The sun came out, the road was straight

Just before Franz Josef

Approaching the mountains

Three peaks

The road into the town of Fox Glacier had three major peaks and I found myself a bit anxious about the whole thing. We have done plenty of mountain passes already - and on gravel - but for some reason this just seemed a bit more intimidating. The climbs were actually pretty brutal. At times the gradient was incredibly steep, while at other times it was extremely steep. The views were absolutely spectacular with the juxtaposition of lush forest and snow-capped mountains, all shrouded in low cloud. The photos, as ever, just don’t do it justice.

The view is elevated...because I was riding up a big mountain

A break on the side of the road as we ascended

The thrill

After the final peak we began our speedy descent and what a surprise. After grinding up steep mountains with thick forest, the view on the other side of the range opened up to a wide, green valley with sunshine and blue skies. The feeling of flying down the mountain after conquering the anxiety from the climb, and then seeing the view…it was all so breathtaking. I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or the elation of seeing our end in sight, but my skin was tingling, and my soul was flying.

The mountains standing vigil over Fox Glacier township. The glacier it nestled to the left of this picture.

But wait, there’s more

We checked into our accommodations for the day (backpackers), dropped our bags and then did a quick out-and-back to the Fox Glacier view trail. This was the first time since the trip started that I’ve been on the bike without all my stuff and my goodness, the feeling was so different. The bike is suddenly responsive, nimble, and light. The actual trail was short (less than 10k return) and the view a bit underwhelming. It’s interesting that mum describes walking on the glacier in the 60’s and it was at the highway. We had to travel several kilometers just to get close to viewing it. Times change. 

The Fox Gacier

A rest day

So tomorrow will be a rest day; my first in 9 days. My body needs the rest, mentally I need a rest, and it just so happens to be forecast to drop 10cm of rain on our area tomorrow. That’s a win-win. It will also give me a chance to trouble-shoot some issues I’m having with my bike; the weight distribution seems off and I’m dealing with an uncomfortable wobble/shake that kicks in at about 15k/hr and above. Most disconcerting.

Final tally for the day:

Distance: 97.60 km

Elevation: 1232m

And the tally for the Tour so far:

Distance: 682.02 km

Elevation: 7,117m