Franz Josef is home to one of the largest glaciers in New Zealand and you get the opportunity to hike up it. Tuesday saw an early wake up call and a group of 9 were at the glacier hike office by 8:30am. Everyone was kitted out with waterproof trousers and jackets, hats, mittens and massive boots. Once again the weather wasn't on our side so after a masterclass on how to put crampons on we were told that the walk wasn't going ahead. However, someone obviously thought it was worth a try and 5 minutes later we were told that actually we were going to do the walk in about 40 minutes. This person was obviously psychic as within half an hour the sun was shining and blue patches of sky could be seen. The glacier is no longer at its prime and its length has slowly been getting shorter and shorter. Its been estimated that within 100 years it will be half its original length. I doubt thousands and thousands of people clambering over it every year really helps either.
Anyway, to reach some of the best ice you need to take a 10 minute helicopter journey which was one of the most exciting things for me. It was a pretty weird sensation, almost like you're floating and my ears kept on popping. It's totally different from planes and I'd quite like to learn how to fly one actually. When you reach the I've you have to slip and slide down some steps that have been cut into the ice to put your crampons on. With a sense of balance as bad as mine this was quite the challenge. They're quite effective though and walking on ice was quite easy, the crampons do make your feet and ankles hurt after a while.
The ice was seriously spectacular though, it forms all sorts or shapes. There are crevices hand water holes dotted around so you have to watch out for them go avoid injury. there were some really cool holes and caves we got to climb through too. We were up on the ice for about 3 hours and it rained for the last hour. Luckily, the water proofs did their jobs properly and the rain made it feel more authentic with a bigger feel of adventure. It was such an incredible experience and definitely worth the wait.
With our ticket we also got free entry into the hot pools across the road from the hostel. After lunch and an afternoon of watching YouTube videos we headed out to the hot pools for a few hours. There were 3 pools; 36° 38° and 40°, the latter only being bearable for about 15 minutes. Most of the time was spent in 38° playing games such as Snaps, the Moon Game, the Train Game and the Ball game. For anyone that doesn't know what these are, they are mind games where you have to guess the rules. They are designed to confuse children but had many of the group absolutely baffled. I felt like a god when I figured out the rules. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel for a pizza feast with garlic bread and chips, don't think I've ever felt so full and sick. The pizzas were delicious though and it included a free drink. All round it was a fantastic day apart from the fact I had stomach cramps due to the over consumption of pizza.
Our next stop was Wanaka and on the way we stopped off at a beautiful walk where you could see the Fox Glacier; check out the photos! We eventually arrived in Wanaka and set ourselves up in the hostel. Lake Wanaka was a 2 minute walk from the hostel so me and Alex decided to go for a dip. It was absolutely freezing and we got to the stage of cold where our skin was stinging. We only managed 2 bombs off the floating platform before we got too cold.
Wanaka is actually really nice and in summer I bet its amazing!
The scenery in this part of the south island is stunning too; rolling mountains and glistening lakes. We're off to Queenstown tomorrow and I'm there for 5 nights as its supposed to be amazing so I'm super excited! It'll be quite nice to stay in the same place for more than a few nights too.
Xxx
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