Day 20 NZ - 20/1/2011

On the Neve b/w glaciers

Whoa!!! That was sensational!!!! Our 30 minute helicopter ride which cost us plenty was worth every cent! There were 5 of us stuffed in a small cockpit. We were up the back to start with so could only see out the side but the view of the glacier was amazing. It is also massive! Fox is 13km long and Frans Joseph is 11km. We flew up FJ first and the actually landed on the neve between the 2 glaciers close to the top of the mountain area. Interestingly you lose all perspective of distance up there. There was a peak which looked like it was about 3-500 metres away and the pilot said it was more like 3 km. Sure enough when we took off later, he was right. It is easy to see how people get lost in the snow. He also spoke about what pilots call a ‘flat out’ where the perspective is even more distorted and they might try and land on a slope which just looks flat. At the landing site we were standing on solid ice about 150 metres thick. To be standing up there after that sensational ride was incredible. Have I used enough superlatives yet?

Top of Fox Glacier

Frans Joseph Glacier

We got to do the second half in the front albeit quite squashy. At one point I lost my stomach when we flew over a ridge which dropped away. I remember when we flew over the Bungle Bungles in WA how you don’t realize how fast you are travelling until you come in for a landing. Suddenly you gain some perspective of the land moving beneath you and you realize that you are travelling quite fast. A helicopter ride itself is an amazing experience but to do it over these glaciers and in amongst the mountains was unbelievable. DEFINITELY worth doing!! We had planned to do the 90 walk to the foot of the FJ Glacier but it seemed like it would be an anticlimax so we bailed.

As our flight was so early we got off to a very early start today so we spent time souvenir shopping. It was then time to say goodbye to the glacier area and head for Hokitika. There was more interesting scenery along the way and even more rainforest. NZ really is a beautiful place. We took a drive out to Hokitika Gorge which was rather nice but the colour of the water wasn’t as good as expected due to the heavy rainfall recently.

We are now at Jacksons Retreat in the ‘town’ of Jacksons which is up on a hill overlooking a braided river and surrounded by mountains. Although it’s a bit windy, it’s a nice spot for our last night in amongst the surrounds. Tomorrow we stay at a motel next to Christchurch airport.

I am pretty tired and whilst the distances aren’t significant compared to Oz, the type of driving coupled with the size of vehicle makes the driving more tiring. It’s  now 6pm and tomorrow we go through Arthurs Pass which should be nice and then clean up and return the van by 4pm.

PS – I thought I’d finished for the day but we just did a walk through the rainforest up the hill on an almost well marked track to a waterfall. It wasn’t big by comparison to what we’ve seen lately, but it was very beautiful. On the way back we visited the toilet block and it would have to be the best kept set of facilities that I have ever seen in a ‘caravan park’ and I have stayed in many. The kitchen/lounge (which they seem to have in most CP’s over here), was boarding on luxurious.