We spent the night at the hostel and cooked a big Christmas Eve dinner along with a few other guests. Then we went on a midnight hike around a quick loop trail and spotted a few glowworms along the way. At one point, Nick missed a right turn to a bridge and walked right off the edge of the trail and fell in a stream. Since we wanted to have a white Christmas, the next day we went to the nearby Fox Glacier which was fairly impressive it’s base but it’s top was covered in fog. A trail led upwards to a lookout point and we could see the fresh glacier melt billowing out of a cave, the ravine carved from the glacier, and then more fog. We didn’t know how impressive it was and figured a quick glance was good enough. At one point we were going to hike down to the ice cave entrance but the numerous warning signs about shifting rock and surge waves deterred us from going very far. We packed up and continued northward to Pancake Rocks.
The ravine carved out by Fox Glacier.
Fox Glacier.
When the path became crumbly, we turned back.
Looking down the ravine carved by Fox Glacier.
Fox Glacier in its fully beauty. Photo credit: TheButterknife
Brian and Ann decided to wait for the weather to clear and then went on a crazy hike + rock scramble to get to the vantage point from the last photo. A few days later when he showed me the shot I decided to always make the extra effort to take the harder route, the road less traveled, and hope for scenes like this. Anyway, we spent the rest of Christmas riding up along the coast and stopped for a roadside nap at some random geological marker. We grew hungry but since it was Christmas, absolutely everything was closed. Even gas stations, fast food, and grocery stores. We were voracious when we finally found an Indian restaurant which seemed to be the only place open in the entire country. We devoured copious amounts of nhan, tikka masala, and other dishes and made friends with the only other customers. A father-son duo on a road trip had the same troubles of finding food and were relieved that this place was open. Even if they had a 15% fee for being open on the holiday.
Nap time.
We found food! A true Christmas miracle.
Afterwards we went to Pancake Rocks which were pretty amazing as the tide was rolling in and causing some big shoot outs from the blowholes. The limestone formations resemble tall stacks of pancakes, hence the name, and we had the park all to ourselves. Rainy weather on Christmas day seemed to keep folks at home. I hopped the fence to get a shot of me in front of a interesting formation which I vaguely remember was called the Three Wise Men. Rain emerged from the dreary weather so we took off to find camp. We went down a small side road that was partially flooded out and then came upon a huge tree next to a creek that was a perfect camping spot.
Pancake Rocks.
The sign is more of a suggestion…
Mmmmm…pancakes!
Trying to keep water from getting inside my boots.
Camp for the night.