Day 9 – Sunday 9th May 2010
Today is Mothers Day and we are going to walk to the glacier! We didn’t book a guided tour for the glacier walk because:
1. We have booked a helicopter flight over Tasman, Fox and Franz Josef glaciers for Wednesday morning. The flight includes a landing on Mt Cook!
2. We discovered that you could do the same walk to the foot of the glacier on your own and it’s free!
Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are easily accessible to the public and are stunning to look at. We parked in the car park of Franz Josef and set out on the walk.
The walk takes 1 hour and 20 minutes round trip and from the base of the Glacier you can view the whole 12 kms of the Franz Josef Glacier.
The distance is so deceptive and the height of the glacier is deceptive. It wasn’t until a tour started walking up on the glacier and you see just how small the people are that you realise just how big the glacier is!
There are many water falls along the walk and you can walk up to the river that flows out from the glacier.
Big chunks of ice that have broken off the glacier are just sitting in the river melting very very slowly.
It was a fantastic walk and I am so glad that we did it!
We stopped for lunch by a lake off the main road where unfortunately we were bitten by sand flies! Nasty buggers!
We drove along the coast to Haast, there are fantastic views and you can spot seals along the beach and the rocks.
At Haast we turned in land to head south East towards Queenstown.
Beautiful waterfalls
Beautiful mountains
Beautiful lakes
We had to get to Queenstown by nightfall as we had flights booked for the morning to Milford Sound! Unfortunately this meant we were driving at night and we rushed through Wanaka and Cardrona Ski fields. Sometimes I think this might have been a good idea because the road coming down the mountain from Cardrona into Arrowtown was rather steep and very windy, probably best I couldn’t see the drop off the side of the road! We made it and spotted a Burger King, so that was dinner! Well we were travelling with a child and we had to keep him happy!
We found a motorhome park close to the airport and called it a day! Franz Josef to Queenstown 354kms.
xx
That walk sounds beautiful Nelli, what a spectacular view. The scenery is just gorgeous. I don't blame you about driving in the dark and not seeing the drop off, I'm not very good on those drives I'm always holding on tight. Thanks for sharing your holiday photos.
ReplyDeleteOh Nellie, these mountains are gorgeous!!! Ok I wnat to pack right now and leave for NZ!!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Mara
Gorgeous! I could dive right in!
ReplyDeleteNellie the photos are stunning. Lucky you being in NZ! The waterfalls look like some we saw in Hawaii. Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing and following me.
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower.
enjoy your trip!
-heather
Wow!! What great photos you captured=0)
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and entering my giveaway(*fingers crossed*)
xoxo,
Carol
oh I wanna go so so badly!! Looks incredible :)
ReplyDeleteThose photos are breathtaking! I especially like the glacier ones. Have fun in the copter ride! Too cool.
ReplyDeletespectacular!!! Nellie
ReplyDeleteWhat a trip!!
You are so fortunate to have this time in your life to experience all that breath taking beauty.
Lasting memories I am sure, I need to get out more often :)
xx
Dore
So gorgeous! New Zealand looks like one of the prettiest places on earth!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe the photos! What an amazing experience! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog :) Talk to you soon.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos!!! Your trip looks like it must have been amazing. :) Thanks for the visit today!
ReplyDeleteThe scenery is fantastic Nellie and may I say, your photography certainly does it justice...although I know it's still nothing like actually being there. Well done! Enjoying the trip:o)
ReplyDeleteAngex
These are my favourite photos you've shared with us - that first one is breathtaking!!
ReplyDelete