13D12N South NZ - Fox Glacier

Day 3 - Fox Glacier


Yet another beautiful day. We had clear blue skies and sunny cool spring weather. We were excited as we will be starting our first activity today and this was one of the highlights of our trip - a half day Fox Trot (half day glacier walk) at Fox Glacier.

We left for Fox Glacier at around 8.30am and on the way we passed by the township of Hokitika and Ross. The roads in NZ are mostly one straight road and to get from Point A to Point B, you will most likely pass through all the small towns in between.





This is Hokitika. A small town on the way to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. We stopped by for some photographs and found a big Jade Factory. We went in to take a look and they were having a sale. We ended up buying some jades for our families back home. If you are looking to buy NZ jades as souvenirs, don't miss this place. They have varieties of jades and designs and the price is very reasonable too.






We continued our journey after an hour of stop at Hokitika. Again, the road is fairly easy to drive. By the way, we brought along our gps and that helped a great deal.





In NZ, you will come across many one way bridges like this. If you are coming from the direction in the picture below, this means that you have to give way to the oncoming car. The black thick arrow shows which direction should move first so if you see an oncoming car approaching, you have to stop and let the oncoming car pass first.





As you are approching Franz Josef township....





Entering Franz Josef. You will have to pass by Franz Josef before reaching Fox Glacier which is about 30 minutes drive away.





This is the new Kiwi Center at Franz Josef.





The town of Franz Josef. It's quite a nice place with the snow peaked mountain as the backdrop and rows of shops on both sides of the road.





Continued our journey to Fox Glacier after taking some photographs at Franz Josef. We can't spend longer time at Franz Josef as we have to meet the glacier guides at 1.45pm for our walk.





This is the township of Fox Glacier. It is even smaller than Franz Josef and I personally prefer Franz Josef over Fox Glacier after comparing the two places. Maybe because Franz Josef is more scenic and more "happening" to me. Franz Josef seems to have more shops and more activities whereas Fox Glacier is really a very quiet town. We checked in at Ivory Tower Lodge before proceeding to the Fox Glacier Guides shop for our walk.





This is the place where we were supposed to meet our guides for the glacier walk. It is a short distance from Ivory Tower Lodge and is in fact within walking distance.





There is a small cafeteria as well as a souvenir and travel desk inside.





We gathered here for a short briefing by the guides before the trip. We were also given socks and proper hiking shoes to wear. Rain jackets are also available for those who need it. Just before we board the bus to the start of the walk, we were given each a crampon to bring along for the trip.





This is the bus that brought us to the Glacier.





The start of our walk.






Have to pass a small stream to reach the foot of the glacier.





A little climb is needed but that's not a big deal. As long as you have a general fitness level, this is an easy walk up.






Our guides, Melissa & Cole giving instructions and information about the place. They are really a patient bunch. I was always behind the group and have to run and catch up with the group as I was busy snapping photos all the time. I hope they don't find me annoying :-p. Well, if not for that, how would you have these pictures to convince you to take a walk on the glacier, right?





Continue climbing ........





We came to a spot where all of us have to start putting on our crampons before continuing the walk. We were also given a hiking stick.





More pictures of the journey and what we experienced and witnessed throughout the walk.









I was glad that the weather only turned gloomy at the end of our walk. Dark clouds were forming as we walked back to the starting point.





After returning from the walk, we made our way to Lake Matheson. It was already about 6.30pm and the sky was slowing getting dark. I was disappointed as I could not view the much talked about Lake Matheson. We walked for a while and decided to detour back as there was nothing much that we can see in the dark :-(. These are the only memories that I have and hold on dearly to on Lake Matheson.






That's the end of our day at Fox Glacier. Is it enough? Of course not!! Half day glacier walk is definitely not enough for me and I want to try the full day walk if I have opportunity to step on NZ soil again. Melissa & Cole, thanks for introducing the glacier to me :-).