So! Last night our roommates spent inordinate amounts of time washing stuff in the sink very late last night and then hanging it all everywhere they could, including on our towels, next to my bed, over Laura's bed, etc. One of the roommates was potentially not a girl, too. Hard to tell. Anyways, we did not feel bad about hogging the shower this morning, nor did we feel bad about turning on all the lights.
The bus ride to Fox Glacier (both township and glacier) was beautiful. New Zealand is probably the most beautiful country I've ever been in. I'll post pictures when I get back to Brisbane. The bus driver gave Laura and I a great compliment: we're the lightest female packers he's ever encountered. As he unloaded our gear, I spotted a huge rainbow over the mountains.
The hike up to the glacier was scary, but our guides were adorable. One of them looked just like Jocelyn. Anyways, we had to walk up 700-some odd steps through damp, drippy rainforest. So, everything was slippery. But, once we got up there, we got to wear crampons. I love crampons. They make me walk with the confidence you only hear about in feminine product commercials, only this is for real. Incidentally, we've totally got Cannibal Corpse on the most metal song title ever: Crampon in the Face. Brutal. Do not worry--this is total hypothesis and has not been experienced, but these crampons did look very painful if gotten in the wrong area.
The top of the glacier was amazing. Imagine billions of pounds of compacted ice, surrounded by rainforest. Plus, as we left, we caught the sunset through the gorge created by the glacier a few centuries back.
Once we got back to the main base, we even got little certificates of completion. I'm pretty happy, but I know I'll be very sore tomorrow. I already have a very sore arm (not the same "injury" as sleeping with it wrapped over my head 4th of July). I finally figured out what it's from--hauling my pack on. I call it backpacker's arm. I'm glad to have figured this out. I was worried it was some Australian Death Worm I'd picked up hiking or something.
The internet at this hostel (It's all very pink and run by one woman... you can't do your own laundry. She does it for you. We're skipping that and waiting, dirty clothing and all, until Christchurch) is expensive! So I'm off.
Long train ride through the mountains to Christchurch tomorrow... Tasmania Saturday!
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