Blogs from Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 13

Date visited: 1-2 February We arrived at Franz Joseph village at lunchtime. The weather had deteriorated rapidly and we were faced with a very gloomy sky and pouring rain. This combined with a limited accommodation choice meant we had to spend the day in a hostel full of young people - crowded, hectic, stressful and dirty. This wasn't our choosing but there was nowhere else affordable. The day was spent largely in the glacier tours building where Ben had difficulty choosing which glacier and what type of walk to go on. Lots of choice including half/3/4 days and 'Heli-hikes' which would take you up further in a chopper. I decided not to go on the ice-walk as speaking to the guides directly they described the tricky terraine, 2500 odd steps to climb and the hours spent ... read more

We have had so many experiences in the last few days. Yesterday we went on the Siberia experience, which was a 30 minute flight in a Cessner plane, a 2 1/2 hour trek through the Siberia valley and ending with a 30 minute jet boat ride. I didn't enjoy the plane very much -very claustrophobic and hot but the jet boat was great fun. We've topped it today with a Heli-hike up the Fox Glacier which was (to use modern parlance) awesome. unfortunately I can't put the photos on here at the moment because the machine doesn't have a photo card slot to fit my camera :( Will try later with a cable. ... read more

After a hearty breakfast at Franz Josef Glacier Country Retreat, Robert drives us to Fox Glacier for another walk. This time, he doesn’t have to remind Alan to stay behind the ropes. It’s too cold for any mishaps. Fox Glacier is much steeper than Franz Joseph. The ice takes a sharp dogleg to the right making it hard to see the upper reaches of the glacier, especially on a cloudy day. I’m not sure if it’s the v-shaped valley or the low clouds, but we really feel the cold. The easy hike is along a low ridge that hugs the riverbed and ends right at the glacier. By the time we finish taking photos our hands are red and cold so Alan and I rush back to the car to warm up. Next, we travel to ... read more

Okay, let's speed things up a bit and continue our journey northward on the west end of South Island. After leaving Queenstown, we headed north to Wanaka,where we stopped at the totally cheezy and totally fun Puzzling World (great for all ages!) and managed to get a photo of Karen and I looking...short! Clearly an optical illusion... Further northward to the coast, where (shedding our outer layer of Icebreaker), we took in the warmth and beauty of the blue waters and rugged coastline along the way. We made a great decision to head down a road to a holiday park (eg place to overnight our campers) at Haast Beach. We got super lucky with the weather and the sunset was gorgeous. Early next morning we set out northward, with a little beach stop photo shoot seen ... read more

Tak asi za dve hodky frcime pryc z Foxe vstric novym dobrodruzstvim, takze na posledni chvili posilam par fotek z toho, co jsem tady ve Foxu prozila. Teste se na dalsi vydani Blanka... read more