RTW Day 41 - Franz Josef

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Not a great start to the day. The bed is ridiculously uncomfortable so I have not slept well and I wake to find my children have been fighting. Quite a feat as they are 7000 miles apart. However, we can hear from the buzzing of helicopters overhead, that the weather has lifted.

Helicopter is the only way to access the glaciers. We opt instead for a 90 minute walk up the retreating glacial bed to the bottom of Franz Josef Glacier. It’s a pretty walk alongside and across the river. Information panels explain how the vegetation changes the closer you get to the retreating glacier.

In the afternoon we return to the Fox Glacier lookout. From the same spot we sat at yesterday, wondering which way was up, you do indeed get a terrific view of the glacier and Mount Cook, NZ’s highest mountain.

Last stop, Lake Matheson. It’s a lake where you can see a reflection of Mount Cook in the water. It’s strange how we can’t really see the mountain on the water, yet in the photos the reflection looks pretty cool. We walk the 90 minute lakeside circuit, meaning we have covered a good 10 miles today. We retreat to the motel to rest and refuel.

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