Franz Josef - Heli Hike

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What we forgot to mention about yesterday is that we decided it would be a really good idea to go drinking after our quad bike adventure and keep on drinking . We even enlisted a number of other English travellers which was not that hard really. Anyway the reason for mentioning this is that luckily when we booked onto the Heli hike it was not until 11:15 it could have been 8:45! We got to the office and were told it was going ahead great news!!!! We were then taken to the kit room to get boots and rain gear, we were not allowed to wear our own boots which we have carried around the world. When we were all ready they put us into groups and walked us to the Heli pad. The flight up was scenic and we were flown over the glacier and at some points very close (this made Rebecca feel not too great after all the drinking!!) We landed on an ice pad the guides had cut out with axes and made our way to the safe zone where we were given crampons. After a short walk we were entering an ice cave it was really cool and the ice was really blue inside. Our guide Cruddy told us that within a few weeks the cave would probably not be there anymore. We walked further and found an ice hole which we climbed through then a compression cave we had to crawl through. Before we knew it we were coming towards the end of our walk we headed for some pinnacles then back to the heli pad for a journey back to the town. After the previous nights excitement we decided watching a film in the hostel was the way forward.

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