caught the bus early in the morning and headed up and down a seriously narrow, windy road. was thinking am sorta glad to be riding this section in the bus... the ups were 3 and quite steep, but one of the downs rivaled anything the Tour could offer and the road was wet! So think I made the right decision not to ride that section as Maggie's rear brakes were compromised!
The ferny forests continues and we arrived on time in Franz Josef. the kind bus driver drove me around to the Glow-worm Hostel, which was much nicer than the very unhelpful guy at The Bigfoot that just shrugged when I asked if there was anyway to get help with my stuff to the bus stop... ah well, just as well I am a farmer's daughter and am strong, tho was getting puffed on the 3rd trip carrying Maggie.
so am liking Franz Josef sooo much better. The courier arrived here at about 12:30 with wheel and I immediately set to, releasing Maggie from her bag and getting all the wheels back on again and handlebar looking proper. Dang, the guy didn't send the brakepads, but when I rang him he apologised and was off to put them on the afternoon bus. but... says I... they don't take parcels... of course they do, he says... the drivers understand! and sure enough when the bus pulls in, he's got a heap of parcels and there's mine!! haven't done this before, but can't be too hard, so let's do it... then I checked on google (maybe should have done that first!) but I think I have done it right. went for a short ride around and after a couple of squeaks and squawks, all seems to be settling in fine!
so while I wasn't fussing over Maggie I strolled around the 2 streets of Franz Josef. there's a cute old church up one end, so had a peak in there... wondered what stories it could tell, probably a lot of sad ones, but surely some happy marriages and christenings as well....
and.... booked in for a 3hr hike up to the glacier tomoz.... had a coffee and a muffin..... walked around some more...... yep! unless you're off on a helicopter ride, there's not a lot to do... as at Fox, there's a lot of accommodation - from flash to not so - a supermarket, petrol station and a PO.... and heaps of cafes and bars. had another burger and chips at the Monsoon Bar - it rains and we pour - and that's about it for another day. My room's smell takes me right back to Lake Eacham and Paluma... rainforests! yay!
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| looking out the bus window |
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| this is the river from the Franz Josef glacier |
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| little Catholic church |
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| street art |
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| my home for 2 nights |
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| there's a bluddy big mountain behind all those clouds! |
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| Reborn! |
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| Almost a break in the clouds! |
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