Fox Glacier

It was a clear, sunny morning when we arrived at Fox Glacier for our hike. There were impressive views of the jutting face of the glacier as well as its flow for miles down the valley. The scale of the glacier was amazing, especially in combination with the recognition that it has been around since the ice age. We hiked through a lush forest to reach an entry point farther down on the glacier. After affixing spiked cramp-ons to our boots, we made our way up the carved ice steps, climbing onto the glacier. Being on the ice of the glacier was almost surreal. We were surrounded by an icy wonderland and you could feel the cold air blowing off of the glacier. We had the opportunity to see deep crevasses and unique patterns of whites and blues in the ice. Though it was not supposed to be part of the hike we signed up for, we even got to step into an ice cave. There was water dripping from the ceiling, and my feet got wet, but it was well worth it for the close-up view of a natural wonder.

That afternoon we took a walk around Lake Matheson, which is known for the potential to see surprisingly clear reflections of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman. Unfortunately the clouds had rolled in by then, so the views to the mountains were obscured. Though, it was still a cool walk with a range of unique trees and plant life along the pathway. And the mountain tops peaked out of the clouds on our drive back, making for quite a picturesque scene.

The following morning brought our first experience of New Zealand’s rain. We had totally lucked out up until this point to have had so many back to back days of perfect weather. Unfortunately our helicopter flight over the glaciers was cancelled due to the weather. Instead we headed over to Gillespies Beach… and I took the driver’s seat for the first time. It was a bit of a hairy drive, as there was a long section of the route on gravel road, which was winding and narrow. Overall, it was quite disorienting to be sitting on the opposite side of the car, driving on the left-hand side of the road. We got quite wet by the time we followed Gillespie’s trail to the beach. The beach itself was strewn with huge pieces of driftwood, which made for an ominous scene amidst the dark rainclouds.