Well another WOW!! Day. There was no need to pull back the curtains today as when we had to go to the loo at 4:00am there were that many stars it was unfathomable. Truly amazing. So when we did wake up we reached for the phone. It was 7:41, we rang the fox glacier guiding mob to see if there were any spots for a half day guided walk. “Yep, will book you on the 8:15 tour”. Holy shit! Go, go, go, we very quickly threw down some breakfast. No time for tea of coffee. Got all the required gear for the hike and off we went. Luckily the place where the tour left from was a 45 second drive from where we stayed. Of course we planned it like that.
We rocked up and were ushered into the boot room, where you were fitted with a pair of boots for the walk. Our guide Grazer (Graham) checked ours and said we could keep them on if we did not mind getting them wet. I asked if those boots she was putting on were what we got. “Yep”, Ok, I’ll keep mine. He gave us all a set of crampons and told us that there was no loo stops for 4 hours. So, off to the bus. We ended up with a group of 4. How cool. Us and a German couple who drove from Wanaka yesterday and said it rained cats and dogs all day. Lucky we came though a little later. They also told us what the hot springs at Franz Josef was like.
Now at this point, I will state the fitness level for the ½ day hike was ‘moderate’ and the full day was ‘good’. We got to he carpark and started to walk up towards the glacier. It was awesome. We had the clearest of days. Everyone said how lucky we were, remembering this place gets 5m of rain a year, I would have to agree. We did some stream hopping up along the creek/river. Grazer was a wealth of knowledge. Tonnes of info on the how’s, whys and what’s of glaciers 101. We got in line with the glacier face. What a raw sight. Then we had to climb to up to the access area of the glacier. And when I said climb. Holy shit!! It was steep and we went up like greyhounds. I thought I was getting old, but later found out that Zuz was doing it real tough too. She didn’t even take a drink at the waterfall we paused at. Then it was up even further. Oh, the legs were hurting. But it was the fact that they just had no power that was worse. We were hurried through the rock fall areas and had a ladder climb and to hold onto a safety chain through the 80m drop off section. Don’t look to the right. As we kept going up, the views of the glacier became grander. Up and down more steps then down a huge set of steps to the side of the glacier.
We all grabbed an alpenstock each and gingerly walked onto the glacier to a flat area where we could fit our crampons. Not too difficult, even though we had to tuck our trousers into our socks so we did not catch ourselves and fall to our death. The guide was cutting steps for us to make it easier. There were also 2 dudes up on the glacier doing the same. What a job on a day like today. But the ice / steps melt as the day goes on so fit, one would have to be. Got used to walking in crampons real quickly. It was incredible being so close to these glacial formations, crunching our way through the ice. Lots more info and demos of the workings of glaciers to fill the grey matter.
The pain in the legs had gone. I think the brain had channelled all available power to the optic nerve. The sights it was being treated to were impossible to describe. Photos help, but only a little. We saw drain holes (moulons) that you could hear the water draining and the wind it caused. Sections of the ice were patterned with dust from god knows when. Some sections gave off a lovely blue tint, crevasse and peaks throughout. It was a privilege to see nature on such a raw level. We ended up doing a lap on the top of the glacier and the group that left 15 min after us caught up to us. We had heaps of questions, which spurred heaps of discussion so we got the whole educational experience. Ah, travel, the ultimate schooling.
So after god knows how long on the glacier and a shite load of photo stops under the snow topped mountains on a perfect day, it was time to head off the ice, take off the crampons and climb those stairs. But at least from there it was mainly downhill. The trip back was awesome as the sun was now enlightening the whole of the glacier and valley. More and more photos. What a sight to behold. On making the bus I would have to say that the experience would have to rate extremely high on the things I have done. The effort to get there was well worth it. We were even given a certificate and this one probably will go straight to the poolroom as for what it represented.
More shopping for gifts and called time for lunch and decided to dine at a place called peak viewpoint. It was isolated with a wonderful view of the glacier and the surrounding Alps. We could even see our old friends Mt Cook and Mt Tasman as well. There was even a Ryan peak. We ate the cheese we got yesterday with crackers and soaked up the sun whilst enjoying the views. Then we took the 3-minute drive back to lake Matheson for a walk through the forest to the lake and surrounds. The views of the ranges were awesome and what you could expect to see on a postcard.
Then we turned our attention to our next mission. Head for Franz Josef and search out those hot pools. Yet another beautiful drive, all be it a rather short one of 30 minutes. We were told where the spas were so we homed in. We found them and across the road there was a campervan park. Well here’s a no brainer on where we stay tonight. It was even the campground that I had joked about 2 days before when we got the map as it was next to an Indian restaurant. How funny life works out. We booked into the campground. The lady was cool and even booked us in for a private pool for half an hour’s time at 5:30.
We parked and got our stuff ready and checked the menu on the way over. Paid our money and were led to our pool. It was very nice, a little 6x12 foot outdoor pool in the shape of a peanut with a little cover over one end. We also had a little cabana with a shower/toilet and changing area, all private and wooden with a heated floor. The pool filled up and was delightful and very relaxing in the rainforest setting. The time went all to quick and what goes on in the private pool stays in the private pool. But seriously, we showered, got dressed and felt a million bucks. Just what the doctor ordered after such a hard day.
Then it was off to the Indian restaurant. It was delicious and I was pretty glad I ordered only a medium curry, Whoa. The lassi was sweeeet too. A 90 second walk saw us back at the van where we downloaded and looked at some photos. We voted unanimously that a dip back in the public pool would be a way to go. So over we went. It was dark and the steamy water gave the place a whole different ambience and atmosphere, literally. Extremely calming and relaxing spoiling our bodies. We changed into our swimmers. Zuz was lucky as she had dry new swimmers she had bought for a steal. Mine were cold, wet and most exhilarating to put on. But all was made better once the boys hit the warmer water. Oh, so relaxing. The 38 deg pool was my home. Although Zuz also explored the 36 and 40 deg pools. So glad we went back. When we were finished it was time to hit the sack and we were both asleep in the blink of an eye.