Day 11 Franz Josef to Reefton
First stop this morning is down to the carpark from where it is possible to hike up to the Franz Josef glacier. We hike the shortest distance necessary to get the obligatory photo.
Next stop this morning is at HariHari. In a small building on the roadside is housed a replica of the biplane flown here by Guy Menzies. In 1931, at the age of 21, Guy Menzies flew solo across the tasman in terrible weather, leaving Mascot airfield in NSW in the early hours and crash-landing in a swamp near HariHari on the west coast of NZ.
It was the first solo crossing of the Tasman Sea. He feared his request to fly would be declined if he went through official channels, so instead he told his family and friends he was planning a non-stop flight to Perth instead, only informing them of his real destination once he had landed. He was a minor celebrity in the region for a few days before returning to Sydney. Fewer than 10 years later he was killed when his plane was shot down during WW2 near Italy.
Just south of Greymouth, at Kumara Junction, we headed east towards Christchurch, then took a left turn at Inchbonnie and followed the road through lovely countryside to Lake Brunner, and had lunch at the pub in Moana, overlooking the lake. From there it was a quick trip through Blackball
And then we stopped for the night in Reefton.
Many of the shops in the main street of town are surviving weatherboard shops which were established in the 1860s during a gold rush here. .