Glacier Country

Another short drive and another dramatic change in scenery. We didn't seem to climb very high from the beach and were suddenly confronted with the enormous icy fracture that is the Franz Josef glacier - one of 3 huge temperate glaciers found in this part of NZ. We arrived in the small town in gorgeous sunshine early in the afternoon and wanted to investigate the glacial opportunities still possible with such young people in tow. Unfortunately, little Florence, being only 6 and of small stature, wasn't able to take part in any of the more adventurous hikes. Ella was just above the minimum age, height and weight required to do the Heli-hike (a helicopter ride and 2 hour walk at the top of the glacier), which Dave and I were both keen to do. All Florence could do was the scenic flight which would only give a brief landing on the glacier - still an amazing experience - so with great current weather and torrential rain forecast for the next few days we struck while the iron was hot and parted with a huge amount of cash to take the girls (and ourselves) on the experience of a lifetime. It didn't disappoint - the girls loved it, I had a great snowball fight with Florence at the top of the glacier with 400m of snow and ice under our feet while Ella hacked her way through ice caves and over crevasses with her dad (of course!).
The torrential rain the following day meant any walking or glacier action was out of the question so we spent the day in our really lovely apartment (thank God we weren't in a cabin) glenfern doing the more structured learning we are endeavouring to do with the girls, playing games and watching DVDs. It's great sometimes to have a day where you do nothing. We've been away for over 2 months now and all this constant activity can be a bit exhausting!

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