Glacier country

Sandfly free we decided we had had enough of this ‘scenic route’ and headed out of the clouds and straight to Franz Josef. We had booked into the Rainforest Retreat, where we were literally parked against the forest, for 3 nights. We sauntered into town on afternoon 1 to see what our options were for experiencing the glaciers in all their glory. We really hankered after the Heli hike, which involves dropping you onto the pristine high glacier from a ‘copter and letting you explore the blue ice caves. Alas we were smirked at … there was no way the kids were allowed to do this. Apparently its quite strenuous with quite an element of danger! You need specialist ice trekking shoes and pick axes. Hey ho. So, we examined the myriad flying options on offer.

The Grand Traverse involves flying low over the whole icefield, including the mighty Mount Cook (New Zealand’s highest, over 12,000 foot) and all the incredible glaciers. We popped in on Air Safaris just to get some info, and ended up booking on this flight scheduled for just an hour later! Basically, the weather was set to close in the next day, and we might not otherwise have had the chance to fly at all, so we were told. Well, the forecasters for once were spot on, and we were immensely grateful later! We did however decide to book Joe on the Heli Hike for the next day. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it … besides, I had had the entire blissful day alone tramping in Tongariro. It was Joe’s turn.

But, back to the little flight. Little was right. I was glad we only had an hour, so no time to get nervous. This plane had only 8 seats, including one for the pilot! We got a ride with said pilot out to a tiny airstrip, and watched him fill up with petrol. Joe then made a very wise decision. To take my mind off the flying aspect, he thrust the camera at me. He sat up the front as co-pilot complete with the headphones (you’ll be pleased to know that unlike Rhys, he did NOT put these on the joystick). There was another couple on board, from the UK, and before you could say “OK let me off now!” we were up. It started all very leisurelyly (OK so I can never work that adverb out), heading out to sea and looking at the rockflour rivers flowing into the Tasman Sea … but then we headed in, and up. The pilot was fantastic, ducking us down just below the clouds and over the snowcapped peaks. It was high, cold and breathtaking. Mountains and planes don’t mix that well however, so naturally it was a bit bumpy and I was so happy I had the photos and video to concentrate on!! Rhys and Jen, with the motion and a complete fearlessness, promptly fell asleep, missing the most spectacular air views it has even been my privelege to witness. We soared, banked and squeezed through sharp, sheer mountains and down immense glaciers. You really GET glaciation when you see it like this! All GCSE geographers should be taken here, or at least look at our photos J
It was worth every bump, every ounce of the freezing cold, and we really hope you enjoy the photos. The kids are now glaciation experts and can tell their terminal from their lateral moraines; their neves from their ablation zones, and if they forget it before they need it aged 16 or so I shall go mad!