Day 25: Franz Josef

Last night I went out to a local Asian restaurant that Marc the coach driver had recommended, it was yummy, I had a delicious Massamam curry, not quite as good as a Kahuna one but not bad!

Then I climbed into possibly one of The comfiest beds I’ve slept in in New Zealand! All crisp sheets, soft pillows and snuggly duvet! Unfortunately I was shocked out of my slumber by the stupid fancy Clock, iPod docking station, alarm contraption that went off at 5.45! 😱 It was pitch black, I tried bashing the bloody thing but this only succeeded in turning it up! Eventually I had to turn on a light, scrabble around to find my sodding glasses before I could turn it off! I managed to go back to sleep for another 30mins….yippee!

After I dragged myself reluctantly from the lovely bed I went down for some breakfast. It was a buffet style, and I ended up with a random selection of, chipolata sausage, baked beans and some tiny little samosas, followed by toast and marmalade (I am british you know! 😁) it was rather tasty.

The weather was looking quite good, so I headed over to the helicopter office to check about my flight for the afternoon, they said that it would be better if I could go earlier as they can’t guarantee the weather will hold. I rushed back to the hotel and got them to call the Tour operator  I’m supposed to be going with this morning and change it to the afternoon, which they did I then ran back to the helicopter office and they said they could get me on the next flight, leaving in 20mins!! Oh Wow/Shit….excited but also very nervous!! I’ve never been in a helicopter and I’m not a massive fan of heights, so probably not the best idea!!! 😳😬 But I feel that I should do it. We had our safety briefing which did nothing to help my nerves, then walked down to the landing site, we watched the helicopter come in, it’s very small! Then we were climbing aboard. There were 5 passengers and the pilot.

We lifted off very smoothly,  then headed straight towards the mountains! The pilot said we would head for Fox Glacier, then see how the weather was and if possible land, then head to Franz Josef Glacier.

OMG!! I can’t begin to tell you how absolutely out of this world it was! We were so incredibly lucky as the clouds lifted, the sun came out and we had the most glorious uninterrupted view of both Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. Breathtaking, and then we landed on this tiny little ledge just above Fox Glacier with Mount Tasman behind us! As I got out of the helicopter I burst into tears it was so incredibly stunning! I couldn’t believe I was standing on a Mountain Glacier!! Me!  The colours of the Glacier are unreal, it’s this perfect pale steely ice  blue, you catch glimpses of it through the crevasses, we spent about 10 mins out of the helicopter just looking at the view, oh and taking the odd picture!! Then we climbed back onboard and took off again, we then flew very low over Franz Josef Glacier, and you got a fabulous view of the formation of the ice and the glacier. Then we headed down the glacier valley and you can see the lowlands and the valley spread out before you right to the coast and the Tasman Sea! Unbelievable. The landing was as smooth as the take off and walked away with a lump in my throat. Possibly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done or experienced. Simply beautiful.

I felt tearful, elated and full of adrenaline, so I went and got a coffee and called Rebecca! I desperately needed to speak to someone and tell then all about it. Bless her Rebecca was fantastic, she didn’t try and hurry me along, she just listened, even though I know she was trying to get ready for work!! Thank you my darling girl. ❤️

After this mind blowing experience I had a little wander around the tiny town the went back to the hotel and had a small lunch and got ready for my afternoon trip!

This is also a trip to the Franz Josef Glacier,  it by bus then you walk to the base of the Glacier, well as near as is safe, which is a fair way away!

The walk is really lovely, taking you through the forest (which is a rain forest, which is weird being next to a glacier) there were lots of waterfalls on the mountain side and I also saw a few rainbows! I followed the path until it reached the glacial river, at which point you can cross using the large flat stepping stones. But, here is the thing. As some of you may know I have a propensity for falling over, I can fall over nothing, muffins, off chairs, out of mini buses, on the dance floor, in the street! Now granted this is usually after a drink or 2, but not always! So as the Young fit girl in front of me slipped a little on the second stone I had to make a decision, do I risk trying to cross and probably break a limb, get soaked, lose my dignity or do I decide that the day has been great so far and turn around?  Common sense won out and around I turned! (I was only 10mins walk away from the viewing area anyway)

I walked back up the trail and sat at the top of the river and just admired the stunning views, the rainbows and chatted to a few people…bliss.

After this I took another path round to a wonderful ‘reflecting pool’ and again sat in silence just listening to the waterfalls and the birds.

As I sat back in the car park waiting for the shuttle, I sat on a bench facing the Mountains and everyone else sat on the rocks facing the other way, some on their phones or chatting which is why they all missed yet more beautiful rainbows!

Im now back at the hotel, writing this and thinking I’m not sure if I’ve done the day justice? It was simply one of the best days ever.

Kia Ora from a blown away me.

🏔🌈❄️❤️❤️

Author: hereandthereclaire

Hi, my name is Claire and I am 60 years young, welcome to my blog. I am new to the whole travel and blog writing world, so no judging! I recently made some big life changes, leaving my job in education and moving myself and my younger children to Newquay in Cornwall, I then started a business with some fantastic friends #coffeeonthecornernewquay. And now I am about to embark on my first big travel adventure...I would love to share this with you. Since starting this blog in 2018 I have made more changes, and now in 2024 I will be traveling full time for the next year! Please join me in sharing my Big Adventure! ❤️ View all posts by hereandthereclaire