NZ Land Logs 12, Year 2: Fox and Franz Josef Glacier Adventures
Date: Friday, March 2, 2007
Weather in Franz Josef Glacier Region: Overcast Skies with Patches of Sunshine
Location: Franz Josef Village, New Zealand
The days just get better and better. This morning we headed 25 kilometers south of here to the Fox Glacier area. First we did an hour and half walk around Lake Matheson which gave us phenomenal views of the Aoraki/Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman. They are both snow-capped and beautiful and we could see the glaciers heading down the mountains. We did this walk first based on Lonely Planet recommendations. The clearest views of the glaciers are in early morning or late evening, so we chose the early morning for our first views of the mountains. Lake Matheson offers view points where you can get photos of the snow-capped mountains with their reflections in the lake. It was absolutely beautiful even though we didn’t have clear blue skies.
We left Lake Matheson and headed for the Fox Glacier. It was a 40 minute return walk from the car park to the terminal face of the glacier. We were wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts. There was an icy wind blowing down from the glacier, but it was not enough to make us put our jackets on. We walked up the valley beside the rushing stream of water coming from the glacier and truly enjoyed the sights. We were about a football field away from the end of the glacier when we reached the roped off area and that was close enough for us. When we returned to the van, we headed north again to the Franz Josef Glacier.
The Franz Josef Glacier is larger than Fox, but both are amazing. In order to get to the terminal face of Franz Josef we had to walk for about 45 minutes up a wide, rocky, and dry riverbed. Again, we could not actually get close enough to touch the glacier but we were close enough to get great views. All in all, we probably walked about seven miles today. When we got back to the campground, we immediately made a reservation for the spa. That was a great way to relax very tired feet and legs. We then made dinner in the communal kitchen of our lodge and are currently sitting in the communal room editing pictures, talking to a couple of guys from England who walked on the glaciers today, and just generally enjoying our adventure. Tomorrow morning we head for Queenstown with a few stops on the way. There are some Lord of the Rings filming spots on the way that we want to check out.
