Walking on Thin Ice

On Friday, January 19th, I left the Awatuna Homestead with the intention of spending some time in the museum of mining at Hokitika. The region had been the location of heavy gold mining in the first part of the 20th century and the museum is located in the Carnegie Library (take a hint Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) in Hokitika.


Museum and Art Gallery of Hokitika.

When I arrived at the museum after strolling around the few blocks of downtown, I waited for 930 to come around and the museum doors to open. Open they did. A woman came out with a piece of paper in her hand. "Lawrence Curtis," she stated firmly. I raised my hand, bewildered. How did she know I was coming to the museum?

"I have a message from Hemi," she smiled pleasantly. "You have left something at their home." I tried to think what it might be as I thanked her and left to get the car. I looked around the car. My documents were there. My maps were in plain sight. My passport was in its proper place. My cameras were buckled in the passenger seat. I drove back towards Awatuna, about 12 minutes away. About halfway there I was confronted with a SUV with a man standing beside it with a sign saying "Danger Ahead." It turned out that a HOUSE was being moved down the middle of the road.


I pulled aside.

Later I thanked Hemi for finding the usb cable for my camera and got back on the road to Franz Josef. I arrived there, having to skip going back to the museum. To find a very busy reception center for the glacier hikers.

First I got all my paperwork filled out. Clearly the lawyers in New Zealand are good at writing adventure release forms. After giving my entire medical history and assuring the skeptical and very fit young man that indeed the old man in front of him was able to leap tall glaciers with a single bound, I got my necklace with my id number, 43, and proceeded to the process of getting my shoes (slightly too large) my socks (heavy blue wool) and my Gortex shell and ice climbing SPIKES which fit over the boots.


Ready for Mount Everest, I boarded the red bus. A small young boy about age 8 from Denmark (spoke with his father later) sat down next to me. He looked at me like he was going to kick my bum (as they say in NZ) when we got to the slopes of the ice walls ahead. My Edmund Hillary illusions disappeared.

It was great exercise. We hiked through rain forest about a mile and then across a vast moraine field. Then the climbing started. One foot at a time, hold on to the ropes.



We ascended about 1,500 feet vertically up the face of the glacier face and maybe half a mile horizontally. Great views. I wanted to go further, but the group's time ended and we had to descend. That was challenging and slow. The guides were very professional and on the lookout for out safety every minute. Unique experience.

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