Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Glacier Hiking
What an amazing past couple of days I've had. It's so neat to drive here because there are so many places to stop and do things along your way. We've stopped a few times to do some short hikes in different areas and we've picniced once in an open field and once at this cool lake (like glass, it made me want to wakeboard). The weather has been amazingly beautiful, no real rainfall, which is very unusual for th west coast. God is good.
When stopped in Greymouth first on Monday. It's a tiny, sleepy little town that you'd almost miss if you closed your eyes for a few seconds while driving. It has this amazing jade factory that we went through. "The wise have likened jade to virtue. Its polish and brilliancy represent purity; its perfect compactness and extreme hardness, intelligence, its edges, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, justice; and the pure sound which it makes when one strikes it represents harmony." Jade is said to be harder than steel and tougher than diamonds. It's fascinating. It is made either from extreme temperatures or water refining it. It's so pictoral of being like Jesus to me. Anyway, when I read up on it I'll tell you more about it. Plus, it's green, my favorite color and the color of hope.
Now I'm in Fox Glacier. New Zealand has 3 major glaciers, which are HUGE! NZ glaciers move almost a meter a day, the fastest moving glaciers in the world. From where I walked only an hour before, the ice had changed 6 centimeters. Obviously, we went glacier hiking. It's the coolest thing. You put on spikes on our boots and walked up Fox Glacier's face. Agh, it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to show ya'll pictures. The glaciers here are maintained from the hot air blown from Australia. As it crosses the Tasman Sea it picks up moisture and upon hitting the Alps it's forced to ascend very rapidly, causing the temperature to plumit and freeze. This one part that we walked through you had to squeeze sideways and it was over 10 meters high above our heads. I'm going to talk Alan into ice climbing with me when he gets here while my parents glacier hike. If you come to this country, it's a must do.
I'm loving my trip thus far. It's only been 2 days and we've done so much stuff. We stay in backpacker hostiles in each city, that are surprisingly very nice here. We're off to Wanaka tomorrow to adventure on! Pray for patience, love, care, safety, energy, and open eyes.
When stopped in Greymouth first on Monday. It's a tiny, sleepy little town that you'd almost miss if you closed your eyes for a few seconds while driving. It has this amazing jade factory that we went through. "The wise have likened jade to virtue. Its polish and brilliancy represent purity; its perfect compactness and extreme hardness, intelligence, its edges, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, justice; and the pure sound which it makes when one strikes it represents harmony." Jade is said to be harder than steel and tougher than diamonds. It's fascinating. It is made either from extreme temperatures or water refining it. It's so pictoral of being like Jesus to me. Anyway, when I read up on it I'll tell you more about it. Plus, it's green, my favorite color and the color of hope.
Now I'm in Fox Glacier. New Zealand has 3 major glaciers, which are HUGE! NZ glaciers move almost a meter a day, the fastest moving glaciers in the world. From where I walked only an hour before, the ice had changed 6 centimeters. Obviously, we went glacier hiking. It's the coolest thing. You put on spikes on our boots and walked up Fox Glacier's face. Agh, it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to show ya'll pictures. The glaciers here are maintained from the hot air blown from Australia. As it crosses the Tasman Sea it picks up moisture and upon hitting the Alps it's forced to ascend very rapidly, causing the temperature to plumit and freeze. This one part that we walked through you had to squeeze sideways and it was over 10 meters high above our heads. I'm going to talk Alan into ice climbing with me when he gets here while my parents glacier hike. If you come to this country, it's a must do.
I'm loving my trip thus far. It's only been 2 days and we've done so much stuff. We stay in backpacker hostiles in each city, that are surprisingly very nice here. We're off to Wanaka tomorrow to adventure on! Pray for patience, love, care, safety, energy, and open eyes.
