Te Weheka Inn Fox Glacier

... with roasted veg- mainly pumpkin- yummy!

We were up early the next day to meet our Fox Guides tour in town. We had to wear some really hard boots- which made me walk with my knees up to my chin (well it felt like that), some really thick socks, gloves and a jacket- but I decided to test out my own rain jacket instead! As we got on the bus they handed us 'crampons' which are things you attach to your boots for walking on the glacier ...

... the back on the way back down and found my head and ears alot more sore that time but it was only for a few minutes so I didn't mind. It really was worth spending the money for the experience and it really made up for the fact that we didn't get to hike on the glacier.

We set off that afternoon on our long journey to Queenstown stopping off on route to see Fox glacier from afar which was similar to Franz so if you see one thats enough I think.

... sunny skiing bowl with 3 lifts and 2 large beginners fields either side of a 'magic carpet' carrier to ease you back to the top.
By the end of our 1st day Gail was snow ploughing up and down the beginners slopes and I had finally learned to ski in parallel and was happily traversing the longest green (intermediate) runs.
Day 2
A repeat of the early morning bus ride. This time armed with a camcorder and a determination to tackle my first blue ...

... so we couldn't hear the other person talk. The views were astounding at the lookout when I reached it: the mountain provided a view of the entire glacier winding up into the mountains as I was much higher than the glacier. It was a pretty amazing site. I met Amelie yet again as I returned down the trail (apparently I hike faster than she does), and we decided to meet up after both getting some lunch in town so we could drive in her campervan down ...

... and then 30 minutes climb up lots of steps which lead us to the ice. It takes at least an hour in total just to get to the glacier.




Finally it gets exciting and we put our crampons on! It takes a moment to get used to them, but soon we are walking on the glacier like a group of Antarctic explorers! The glacier looks big from the viewing point at the car park, but when you are on it and looking up, you realise how huge it ...

... Like most of the world's glaciers it's retreating back up the mountain but the sheer quantity of the iceflow is awe-inspiring.

The plan was to walk up to the face of the glacier that afternoon but this area had been closed, not due to falling ice but to rock falls from the surrounding valley walls. We learned the following day that when the ice retreats it leaves the valley walls like ticking time bombs as the rock is fractured and pops out, tumbling down the hill taking ...

... and ride close along the cliff face.
The second day took us from Westport to Lake Mahinuapua, this was an amazing drive as it was a clear day and the road took us along the west coast. We stopped to take a short walk where we saw a small seal colony, and also stopped at "Pancake rocks" which are rocks which show layers, hence the name.
We made a lunch stop in a town called Greymouth, here we were given an hour to get stuff for the costume party at the "Poo Pub ...

... were booked out and cost $100 each (opposed to our $12 each shuttle). The first kilometre was on a path through some forest and then the rest was along the river bed which involved crossing a few streams and avoiding the main river from the glacier. (it carried huge boulders and looked menacing and cold). Of course at the first stream crossing Niamh slipped and got her feet soaked! So after borrowing Keith’s socks we headed up to the glacier for photos ...

... breath-taking to see something like this is real life. The history behind it and that force of it is unbelievable. After the Fox we went further north to the Franz-Joseph. Again, amazing. We walked out on this field of rocks that were left from the glacier a couple hundred years ago. As we understand it, the glacier is still "alive" underneath the rocks. The ...

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)
< br>It was wet and cloudy in the morning and so the optional Heli-hike excursion to the very top of Fox Glacier was cancelled, forcing those booked on it to join the rest of us on an ancient bus to the base of the glacier instead. We walked for perhaps an hour and a half along a valley ridge above the front face of the glacier, and though it was a little cold, thankfully the rain held off for ...