Walking up Franz Josef Glacier

Yesterday was an early start and a carb filled breakfast ready for our all day adventure up the Franz Josef Glacier. We arrived at the trek centre around 9am and got kitted out with boots, crampons, socks and jacket etc. Then we boarded the bus which took us to the bottom of the glacier. Arriving at the site we were put into groups depending on what speed you'd like to go and of course we wanted the fastest No1! The Glacier was far more impressive then Fox Glacier and as we stood on the river bed next to the car park and the start of our walk we were asked how far away the glacier looked - we reckoned 1km, in fact it was over 2.5km away!

When we arrived at the front of the glacier (terminal) we were again split into smaller groups - fortunately we'd been chatting to our guide (he used to be a mechanic in Bury St Edmunds - wonder why he's here now!) so we got in the lead group - fresh terrain to explore!

Getting up onto the glacier was the hardest part especially getting used to the cramp-ons (or clamp-ons as Rach called them!). Surprisingly it was still pretty warm but as we gained height it did get a bit colder, especially when having to touch the ice to keep your balance. The guide took us through the large crevasses that had been formed and you were in a world of blue clear ice standing 30 metres above you at times. We stopped occasionally for the guide to go and explore ahead trying to find new things to look at. About half way up he'd spotted a large ice tunnel that was safe to go through. It was tight at times and we had to take off our rucksacks to get through - pot-holing in the glacier - amazing! The tunnel was about 15 metres long and it took us into another large crack heading up. We reached the highest point of our trip around 2pm after trekking for 3 hours to get there. We got up to about 650 metres and the views looking back down the valley were incredible. Sitting on top of glacier having lunch we felt so lucky to experience something like this. Luckily the weather held off and as we ventured back down the clouds were there but no rain. On the way down we were again taken through some tight spots along the ridges and allowed to explore some more ice tunnels. We got off the glacier around 5pm so we spent a good 6 hours exploring - totally worth it! We all felt pretty tired and were looking forward to getting back to the campsite for a cup of tea and a ginger nut biscuit!

Yet again another fantastic day in New Zealand and to top it off Rach and I went to the glacier hot pools after going back to the campsite. It was a great place to rest and soak our tired bodies - they had three large hot tubs all at different temperatures (36, 38 & 40C) and we relaxed in the heated glacial water for about an hour or so before heading back. Last night we had a simple but tasty meal of potato wedges and veggie chilli with a glass of red.

Today we're heading to Queeenstown, about a 5 hour drive.

Love to all at home and hope things are good.

Mark & Rach. xxx