02/26/2011 S. Westland Salmon Farm, Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Town

the day before matt and i met up with the group in Wanaka the Christchurch earthquake hit. the group was scheduled to fly up there in 2 days but needless to say that wasn't going to happen. in fact the CBD (Christchurch business district) or downtown/historical area was totally closed to residents, let alone tourists. there were a couple couples in Christchurch when it hit and they were able to get transit to join us in Queenstown, but they had to leave all their luggage, and bike, behind. our fearless leaders were on the phone for 24hrs getting us new transit, food and beds and itinerary for the next 3 days. they routed us up and to the west into glacier territory by bus to start with. we kept passing signs for 'possum pie' but sadly we ate lunch at a salmon farm.

we stayed in franz josef town that night, at a 'clean' hotel. it was actually a Scenic Hotel. the same chain matt and i stayed in our 1st night in Queenstown. anyway, most of us ended up in the bar for drinks. the bartender was a young guy who knew if he treated this bunch of americans right he'd get a pretty decent tip, and he was right. in the cooler behind him we spotted the kiwi wine and i asked if it would be possible to have a small pour just to taste. then dinner followed. simple as the hotel had like 24hrs to prepare dinner for a group our size, but they did a pretty good job considering.