Before ascending the Franz Josef glacier***
We had an early start yesterday morning as we were heading off on a tour of Franz Josef glacier. We were very lucky with the weather as it was a sunny & clear morning. The glacier is about 4km from the village and once off the bus its a 2.5km walk to the foot of the glacier. The views of the glacier as we walked along the valley were amazing.
A shot with our cool Kiwi guide Jeremy
At the foot of the glacier we put on our crampons and started our ascent, lead by our guide. There is a constant team of people cutting & clearing off steps of ice up the glacier. We walked for about 2 hours, and took plenty of photos.
Returning to the village we then made a picnic and set off for Okarito beach, about 14km away. Although cool and breezy here we enjoyed our lunch and had to put on plenty of suncream. It was amazing how the forest reached down to the grey sandy beach.
Blown away by Okarito beach
Back at the village we had a "few" local beers in the Blue Ice cafe, then we cooked dinner.
Today we're heading off on the road again to Wanaka, about 6 hours away. Then on Sunday we're off to Queenstown.
