Franz Joesf and Fox Glacier

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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 have of course!) and they proceeded to fly us towards the cliff edges in a swooping motion and over the glcaier. I managed to get a few shots of the roof of the helicopter but I will be the first to admit the photography on the flight hadnt gone well. Once landed we explored with crampons on a variety of ice caves, arches and tunnels enjoying the clear blue skys and blueness of the ice (caused by light absorbtion). We spent a good 4 hours on the glacier and then had to depart.

We decided to warm up in the Franz Josef hot pools with a cool girl we had met who was from Windsor and visited Lake Matheson in the hope of a reflection of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. We also camped at Gillespies beach with a beautiful sunset and lots of large sand flies!!

Heading South we stopped at Bruce Bay, Lisa was admiring the literally tons of driftwood washed up on the shore and the strange stone stacks, however there were way too many sand flies to hang around for long. Therefore we camped at Lake Wanaka with amazing views over the mountaions and enjoyed jam & scones for tea!

Visited Jackson Bay and took a walk out to try and find the penguins, no luck as usual although we enjoyed scampering around on the rocks! Continued South on the Haast pass and took in the Thunder creek and fantail waterfalls which were conveniently a short walk from the roadside. Heading for Queenstown we took the scenic Cardrona valley with its spectacular mountain views. The Crown Range road was a particularly good drive, shame we were in the Spaceship!!!

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