Blogs from Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

So today was glacier day, and it's been brilliant. I've wanted to see a glacier for years to now and to have finally experienced one and been mesmerised by it is just amazing. The constant reminder of the force of nature is truly humbling.  Fox glacier is one of the only glaciers in the world to be surrounded by rainforest. Now I knew that fact before I went but I hadn't appreciated what it meant. The walk up, please note up, to the surface of the glacier saw us walking up the morain to the terminal face (get me with the lingo), well not that near because it's too dangerous, then moving to the left of the glacier itself to walk up the hill on the side, in 3 minutes you go from standing beneath a wall ... read more

Quittant Fiordland, ma route s'oriente au nord, une direction que je ne lâcherai plus pour un moment. Mes prochaines destinations ont pour noms Queenstown, Wanaka et Fox Glacier et vont m'emmener à nouveau au cœur des Southern Alps. La montagne me plaît toujours autant, à croire que les paysages si terriblement magnifiques de Milford Sound ne sont en définitive pas parvenu à me blaser. Il faut tout de même ajouter que cette étape alpestre a aussi été le théâtre d'une chasse frénétique aux lieux de tournage du Seigneur des Anneaux ; de quoi combler mes aspirations et faire passer en un éclair une nouvelle semaine sous le soleil de Nouvelle-Zélande. Voyons cela de plus près. L'appel de la montagne Un lac, des montagnes, des rivières, des canyons, des forêts et au milieu de tout ça : ... read more

Well we arrived at Fox Glacier expectant of some stunning scenerey and the initial drive to it did not dissapoint! However upon arriving a thick fog enveloped the town of Fox and we were unable to see the mountains let along the glacier! We had booked a heli hike and it didnt look good, although we needn't have worried as the weather cleared the following day and we were on! Firstly, you get how can I say it what is a rudimentary safety briefing telling you to sit calmly in the crash position should the helicopter be plummeting to its demise. Yeah right, I think we all know you are a gonner in that scenario. We got picked up by some young pilots who had seen Top Gun a few too many times (not that I ... read more

...and I did it! This has got to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Less than 24 hours after deciding to actually do a skydive I have already jumped out of the plane and landed again! It cost quite a bit but well worth every hard earned penny. We meet the dive company at 5 and they took us over to Fox Glacier to a ting air strip (it was in fact just a few caravans and an old road and the world's smallest plane!) I signed the "if I die it's not their fault form" and then got straight into a jump suit. There was a brief safety talk and a guide through how to jump out the plane properly. Dan and I were the last two to jump so we ... read more

This morning we got up and decided to drove down to see the glaciers. It was overcast and really cold. We stopped off at Franz Josef glacier and hiked up to a viewing point to see it. It was really cool to go look at. I had never seen a glacier before and it was nice to be able to have a visual to put with the word. It's amazing how the glaciers can retreat and reform, and how it looks like frozen movement. Like water or snow just frozen in time, even though they slowly are moving. It started to rain while we were hiking around, so we decided to go back in the car and drive down to Fox Glacier instead of embarking on a longer hike to the glacier. We got a place ... read more

We left the sunny shores of Lake Wanaka. It was warm and had lots of sand flies so thick you breathed them in while just standing. The full moon over the lake last night was magical. We went to Puzzle world just outside Wanaka. It was fun and well worth the couple hours and laughs,.. We went through the maze and Ken won collecting all the towers and getting out before Chad and Laura We stayed at the Wyndem Resort. Washed our laundry, sheets and stinky socks. It was great to have our own rooms and beds and 2 showers within 24 hours. Ken and Chad came up with a new curse word for the trip... " Bundaberg" which is a very nasty rum. We got up from our warm beds, showered, and had breakfast, did ... read more