Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers: Mountains of Ice and Buckets of Rain!
Following our scenic journey from the east coast of the south island to the west we headed towards 'Glacier Country' on the bus. Predictably, glacier country is gome to many enormous blocks of ice, the two largest of which are called Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. We wanted to visit both of these so we stayed in each of their respective townships (their word, not mine) for two nights.There are a multitude of glacier-based activities available at both Franz Josef and Fox, from ice climbing to helicopter rides. We were obviously not about to pay $400 for a 20 minute flight, but we did, for once, decide against the cheapest option by opting to do a full-day (as opposed to the half day) guided glacier walk. Given the choice of doing this at either Franz Josef or Fox, we chose the latter basically because Emily was taken in by their brochure. This proved to be unfortunate as we had a day of glorious sunshine in Franz Josef, a strong contrast to our experience in Fox.
When we awoke on the morning of out glacier walk it was fairly grey but wasn't raining (as it had been for the last 12 hours) so we were feeling fairly positive about the day's weather. Our optimism, however, was soon quashed when the rain restarted and we discovered that it was unlikely to stop for the rest of the day. When we reached the Fox Glacier HQ we found that the trip would go ahead regardless and so before boarding the bus to the glacier we were kitted up with boots, waterproof trousers and coat, mittens, crampons, and the all important extra pair of socks.
By the time we reached the glacier car park it was raining heavier than I think I have ever seen - a claim that would be repeated throughout the day. Emily, on the other hand, said it reminded her of family holidays. It was all quite amusing, especially as most of the people in our group reacted like they hadn't seen rain before at all. We, on the other hand, had fully expected it; our good luck with the weather was bound to run out sooner or later, and besides this particular part of New Zealand receives 5m of rainfall a year.
To reach the glacier we had to trek up through the surrounding temperate rainforest for about an hour. Along the way we had to go through (literally - there was only one bridge) the fast flowing streams which were now more like waterfalls. Once at the glacier access point we were given a quick briefing and shown how to fit on our crampons. By the time we finally stepped onto the ice we were well and truly soaked through, but the situation would get worst before it got better, as we then had to endure a 10 minute sleet/ice storm. During this onslaught of nature we just had to stand still and try and hold our balance in the gale-force winds. By the end of the storm we were huddled together like penguins; this was becoming a true arctic experience!
All of a sudden the weather died down and we could see a glimmer of light (or at least a slightly lighter grey) at the other end of the valley. The mood was lifted and Emily was being particularly optimistic. Some people obviously found this quite endearing but I knew that much of her enthusiasm existed only to spite the sour faces of the less cheerful members of the group. Without the rain and wind it was very peaceful on top of the glacier, partly because everybody was too wet and cold to communicate. The peace was soon broken, however, by the sound of boulders crashing down the adjacent cliffs. We watched as the rocks caused a landslide near the path we had just walked along. This sent the guides into a hive of activity as they tried to assess the damage and decided what to do. Meanwhile, a few other groups were returning early from their walks, so this small part of the glacier soon became very overcrowded. I was desperately hoping for a free helicopter ride.
Our guide, Matt, returned to us with the news of a good weather window and said that, if we wanted, we could go for a short walk on the glacier and then return before the weather turned once again. We, of course, were grateful that we'd get some time on the glacier. Matt obviously had hindsight because when we returned from our short foray on the ice we found that the other groups weren't too far ahead of us. This was because the weather had washed away the one bridge and so they needed to carve out a new route through the forest. The new path basically followed and cut through a stream. Walking in the stream wasn't as bad as it sounds as by this time the water was warmer than our feet. It was quite tricky though; we had to clamber through the trees, using them to balance and to swing off. It was a lot of fun!
Although our time on the ice was considerably shorter than planned, it was still very cool (excuse the pun). We moved quite slowly as our guide had to cut steps into the ice using his ice-axe, so there was plenty of time to take in the dramatic views. There were lots of streams and icy pools, a giant marble like wall and a naturally formed tunnel. We also got to listen to the gurgling of the water running through naturally formed pipes beneath us.
All of a sudden the weather died down and we could see a glimmer of light (or at least a slightly lighter grey) at the other end of the valley. The mood was lifted and Emily was being particularly optimistic. Some people obviously found this quite endearing but I knew that much of her enthusiasm existed only to spite the sour faces of the less cheerful members of the group. Without the rain and wind it was very peaceful on top of the glacier, partly because everybody was too wet and cold to communicate. The peace was soon broken, however, by the sound of boulders crashing down the adjacent cliffs. We watched as the rocks caused a landslide near the path we had just walked along. This sent the guides into a hive of activity as they tried to assess the damage and decided what to do. Meanwhile, a few other groups were returning early from their walks, so this small part of the glacier soon became very overcrowded. I was desperately hoping for a free helicopter ride.
Our guide, Matt, returned to us with the news of a good weather window and said that, if we wanted, we could go for a short walk on the glacier and then return before the weather turned once again. We, of course, were grateful that we'd get some time on the glacier. Matt obviously had hindsight because when we returned from our short foray on the ice we found that the other groups weren't too far ahead of us. This was because the weather had washed away the one bridge and so they needed to carve out a new route through the forest. The new path basically followed and cut through a stream. Walking in the stream wasn't as bad as it sounds as by this time the water was warmer than our feet. It was quite tricky though; we had to clamber through the trees, using them to balance and to swing off. It was a lot of fun!
Although our time on the ice was considerably shorter than planned, it was still very cool (excuse the pun). We moved quite slowly as our guide had to cut steps into the ice using his ice-axe, so there was plenty of time to take in the dramatic views. There were lots of streams and icy pools, a giant marble like wall and a naturally formed tunnel. We also got to listen to the gurgling of the water running through naturally formed pipes beneath us.
We weren't too upset about cutting our walk short. Not only had we had a very unique experience (Matt the guide said he had never known anything like it) but by the time we returned we were longing for a shower and a change of clothes. We also found that our sandwiches had gone mouldy in our damp bags so we were pleased that we wouldn't need to eat any more of them. The only thing that I was particualy disappointed about was that we didn't get stranded enough to warrant a helicopter ride.
Just as memorable was the day that we moved from Franz Josef to Fox, although this was mostly for the wrong reasons. We had booked an early bus so that we would have plenty of time to explore the Fox area, in particular nearby Lake Matheson. The problem was that we had just bought some new, very effective ear plugs. In fact, they were so good, that we both slept through our alarm and I was woken by Emily at 7:58am uttering the rather unhelpful "panic, panic, panic". Needless to say it was too late and we missed our 8:00am bus. Although this was all a bit frustrating we were soon counting our blessings when I established that Emily had taken our main wallet (the one that carries the cash and credit cards and our driving licenses and ID's) to the shop the night before, and now wasn't too sure what she'd done with it. Obviously she did the whole "I thought I gave it back to you", but luckily we then found it wedged down the back of a hostel sofa. We did make it to Fox in the end and had plenty of time to explore Lake Matheson after an incredibly boring 6km walk down a straight road. The lake is supposed to offer mind-blowing reflections of Mount Cook and the Southern Alps, as many a post card shows. Unfortunately the weather wasn't nearly still enough to get this effect. It was still very pretty though, and given what had happened earlier on in the day we were just grateful that nothing else went wrong.
As I mentioned, we did have one day of good weather which we took advantage of by visiting the Franz Josef glacier. In typical fashion the track we wanted to walk was closed due to a rock-fall, so we did several shorter walks instead. We saw the glacier from several angles and visited Peter's Pool, a beautifully still pond which gave a spectacular reflection of the glacier. The final track took us to the secluded but inappropriately named Lake Wombat, and then up (and up) a hill to a wonderful view of the village and the valley which extends all the way out to sea.
If only our other days in 'Glacier Country' had been as successful as this one!
Chris
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