Kayaking and hostel life

With rain 2 out of 3 days on average, we figured there'd be a good chance that we would not see the Franz Josef glacier reflected in the placid lake. And, indeed, there was a soft drizzle and some periods of steady rain.



But, it was quiet and beautiful none-the-less. As luck would have it, there was just the 2 of us, so we had a bit of a private tour with our guide C.C. She looked like Ani DiFranco during the dreadlock phase.



Our guide showed us into a small bay, then a smaller inlet where we saw the subtropical rainforest up close. We saw a white heron on the shore.



The paddle back to shore was exhausting. But, we had an excellent nap after our 'self-catered' lunch of cabbage soup in the Franz Josef Hostel.





Hostel life is quite pleasant, not to mention a very economical way to see the world. There's a place to stash groceries, including refridge and freezer space. The hostels in NZ are uniformly organized. At each one so far, there's been a communal spice rack and some extra bins for free food that folks might leave rather than carry to the next stop.





And, everyone is expected to clean up after themselves.