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Published: March 14th 2007
We arrived in Franz Joseph, a beautiful little village from which you access the glacier. We decided to do the full day, 8 hour trek up the glacier as I had been told by other people how amazing it was. So we got up bright and early, put 4 layers of clothing on and walked down to the office where they kitted us up in walking boots, waterproof trousers, coat, hats and gloves, and gave us tallons to fix to our boots once we started to climb the glacier.
The first time I saw the glacier I was totally amazed, it was such an awesome sight. It is 12 km long, and to think we were going to climb some of it was unbelievable. As we started to climb I realised that this could be a pretty exhausting day, pulling yourself up over these massive pieces of ice was hard work, especially on the legs. The only time we stopped was for a 10 minute lunch break, and that was too long to stop for, it was absolutley freezing. We had a really fun guide called Mark who made the day really exciting, and kept us laughing even when we
couldn't feel our feet and were complaining. Yes, he had the only group of all 10 girls, so I think he managed pretty well. I did slip over a few times, as did everyone else, but that kept us laughing.
The next day we left Franz Joseph and headed down to Wanaka. On the way we stopped at Lake Matheson where we saw the reflection of Mount Cook and the Southern Alps. What an amazing sight. Sometimes I look at the scenery and I can't actually believe I'm seeing it. I want to capture the image and feeling of that moment, but it's impossible to do, only photos can show so much.
Wanaka is also a lovely place which is also very popular in ski season. It is right next to the lake and we just sat out on the pub balcony and looked out over the lake. I could do that forever!
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Hey, I stumbled on your site while trying to find a photo of justin. I took the very same trip as you, and when i saw the ice axe you used, I just couldnt help but add that it looks just like the one i used! Hope you enjoyed nz as much as i did.