New Zealand : Day 3 - Franz Josef / Lake Matheson / Fox Glacier.

At Franz Josef, we stayed at a motel called Glacier View Motel. I strongly recommend this place as the accommodation has two bedrooms, a toilet, and a small kitchen. Perfect! Not to mention the owner is a very nice and accommodating lady. And the view from the motel is breathtaking. Upon arrival at the motel, we had a simple "home-cooked" dinner of roasted chicken (bought from a Supermarket in Greysmouth), canned mushroom soup, rice, and salad. It was a really simple and satisfying meal. :)

Lovely motel.

The view from our motel. 

The following day, we slept in for a little bit and started our 5 1/2 hours journey to Queenstown at 9:30am. We were all well-rested as we had a good nights' sleep.

All set to go!!

The owner has an adorable old Labrador who has an uncanny
liking of getting himself into our picture.  Uninvited. 

We were surrounded by picturesque mountains as we drove to the town of Franz Josef to stop-by and buy some souvenirs. There is nothing much in this small town though. Our intention was to stop by the Franz Josef Glacier - alas we took a wrong turn and overshot so we didn't had a choice but to forgo it. Yes, in case if you don't know, Franz Josef is a "glacier town". You can book for glacier excursions and helicopter rides. 

Franz Josef Town

We continued driving and passed by Fox Glacier - which was good for us. At least we get to see a glacier! As we drove along, we stopped by Lake Matheson. This lake has been the "face" of New Zealand in posters, magnets, and key chains. But, nothing beats seeing it for yourself. 

It was a short 30 minutes hike through easy forest track-road before you reach the Jettyview Point. You can opt to walk the entire circle of the lake which will take about 1 hour 45 minutes if you want. 

Mount Cook at the background

The unique part about Lake Matheson is that the water reflects mirrors the reflection of Mount Cook in the background. Not only that, we would also have a clear view of the majestic Mount Cook from the Jettyview Point. The below picture was taken simply with a point-and-shoot camera with no photoshop whatsoever. Beautiful isn't it? 

Picture perfect of Lake Matheson with the
reflection of Mount Cook.

After Lake Matheson, we continued to Fox Glacier. An eye-opener as we have never seen a glacier before. Honestly, I expected more ... like getting close enough to touch it and probably to lick the ice. Unfortunately, we cant because the glacier is constantly moving and large blocks of ice may fall and bury you alive. You can only get close to the glacier if you have a guide with you. The walk to the glacier is about 30 minutes.

That's the closest that we can get.
The white part in the middle is the glacier.

Not worth the risk

After all the hiking, my cousin someone was complaining of severe hunger~ness, so we stopped by a salmon farm which apparently serves awesome salmon dishes (as what has been recommended by tour books / shows / internet).

I've got to disagree with the recommendation though as the salmon was so-so. The pan-grill salmon was on promotion for NZD22 (RM56). Yup, not exactly cheap my dad suspect that the salmon was no longer fresh hence the "discounted price". 

Pan-grill salmon. Looks yummy but looks can be deceiving.

After having our tummies filled, we continued on to Queenstown .. stopping by occasionally for toilet breaks and to snap pictures of more sceneries as and when we felt like it. That's the beauty of a self-driven DIY holiday. <3

By the time we arrived in Queenstown, it was already very late in the night. And we were starving for dinner.

Love;
Mrs Lee