Franz josef and fox - glacier action! (1.11.12 - 03.11.12)

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As we left Punakaki the weather had picked up and the wind had dropped, however 15 minutes down the coast it got darker and darker, until the rain came! We were aiming to drive to Hokatika so we could use the Internet in the library and have some lunch. The road was quiet enough but one of the crazy windy roads the kiwis have built around their hills. After arriving in Hokatika we ended up sat in our camper van on the coast watching some people fishing for whitebait in the rain. The roads between Punakaki and Franz Josef were interesting to say the least. With 90* turns on cliff edges by sheer drops, we were back in top gear territory, unfortunately if the weather was better we would have had some incredible views. Some time along these roads we had our first experience of the iffy cupboard flying open on a roundabout, queue oil everywhere in the camper van (I wasn't doing the top gear driving at this point, just a standard roundabout, I promise - James).
Unfortunately on arriving in Franz, it was raining. The holiday park was huge, with backpackers hostels, a bar and a hot tub, unfortunately this equates to lots of annoying British teenagers on bus trips. We went for a quick walk around the tiny town, and then gave in to the bad weather, hired some DVDs and headed in to spend the afternoon and evening watching dvd's and cooking and drinking tea and coffee, oh how we've changed. The next day we had booked a half day glacier walk for the afternoon on Fox glacier. The larger of the two glaciers - Franz Josef had appeared, when we booked it, to be much more expensive, only offering helicopter walks, costing lots of money. It later transpired that the terminal face of the glacier is currently unsafe for walkers, so it is closed for the season. Our walk on Fox was not due to start until 1.30 so in the morning we drove to the Franz Josef car park and walked as close as we were allowed to the terminal face (500m away). Unfortunately for us it was raining and raining lots, so during the hour long walk, and time spent taking photos from the impressive terminal face, we got soaked. This is the best thing about carrying your home in your car! After a quick change and a cup of tea we were ready to brave glacier number 2. The drive to Fox was quite crazy, full of 180* turns and cliff edges, and unfortunately still raining. We had some lunch in the van in Fox and then we were ready to meet for the trek. The glacier walk involved a big group, initially 30 people, splitting into two groups of 15 with a guide each when we arrived at the glacier. We were well kitted out in waterproofs, boots, walking poles and cramp-ons. After the initial bus ride to the glacier valley, we walked about 15 minutes to the glacier terminal face and then had to walk up the side of the valley around the terminal face to get onto the glacier! Before stepping onto the ice we had to fit some cramp-ons to our boots, a sort stop and a bit of a safety talk and we were away. Walking on the ice took some getting used to, we had to stamp down hard into the ice steps cut by our guide. It was ace! We spent an hour and a half ish being guided around the ice. The surface of the glacier was littered with rocks, at time boulders, that had been carried down from further up the valley. It felt, at times, like we were walking on the moon. It meant that the ice went from a dirty, muddy colour to really deep blues where the ice was densely packed. The ice was so thick, it was incredible with melt water streams running through cracks and crevasses present in the ice. We were allowed down into to two large crevrasses during the time we were on the ice, and it was pretty impressive, check the pictures out to understand better! By the time we got back to the van it was gone 6, so we headed back to the site bar for a coke, still sticking to our healthy week, then headed for the camper for another food and DVD night, rock and roll!

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