Emporer Franz Josef

The forecast for Arthur's Pass on Monday was more of the same.. Rainy, drizzly, overcast, etc. So I decided to make my way back up to Westport, as a base for heading further north to Karamea and the Oparara Basin. There are some great caves and limestone formations in Oparara, and I especially wanted to check out the Honeycomb Hill Caves and Arch. The bones of the now-extinct giant Haast eagle (with a 3-4m wingspan) were discovered here, along with those of 3 of the 5 moa species. These particular natural wonders are protected by DOC (the Department of Conservation; most towns here have a DOC office where they have info on walks, weather and, of course, conservation of the local environment and wildlife. They seem very environmentally conscious over here, it's fantastic to see!) and access to them requires accompaniment by an accredited guide. Unfortunately, on the days that I wanted to go up, the guide had (conveniently) decided to take the day off.
Tuesday, I borrowed the hostel's mountain bike and I started riding a little inland en route to a town called Reefton (which was actually the first town in NZ to have an electricity supply). I must note here that from Westport, the road to Reefton is about 80km over the mountains. Obviously I didn't get there, but I did manage to get about 35km (it rained the entire 2-hour trip) before stopping at an isolated river-side hotel for lunch and a rest. When it stopped raining, I started on my way back and wouldn't you know it, it started raining again, and didn't let up for about an hour. By the time I got back, I had practically air-dried so I was happy.
Car pooling yesterday with Bryan, a fellow backpacker, we did actually get up to Oparara and were able to see the unrestricted Oparara Arch (a massive 200m long and 37m high limestone arch) and the "Crazy Paving" and "Box Canyon" Caves. Even though the Honeycomb Caves were still out of bounds, it was definitely worth making the trip up there.
Again, another beautiful day out here on the West Coast. My first trip on the Magic School Bus was not too touristy so that was good. We did stop off to eat Possum Pie along the way. Yes, that's right, they actually eat possums here! Possums were introduced here from Aussie and they have since become a massive pest, eating the native foliage, etc. So what better way to keep their numbers under control than to eat them?
I am now quite a bit further south, at the Franz Josef Glacier; known simply as Franz to the locals, this glacier and subsequent nearby settlement was named in 1865 by its (European) discoverer, Austrian Julius Haast, after the Austrian emporer. On Saturday, I will be ice-climbing up this huge slow-moving mass of compressed snow. This afternoon, something a little less energetic, but just as exciting.. Kayaking on the huge black-water Lake Mapourika.

I've added photos to the past couple of posts now.. Check 'em out

Photos:
1. I found this eerie tree on the walk to the Oparara Arch. It doesn't look real does it?
2. The lovely little sign above the Possum Pie factory. I don't think they look that evil in Australia...