~Glacier hiking was marked as one of the MUST DO activity in my NZ’s travel planner. The well-known glaciers, Fox glacier and Franz Josef situated on the West Coast of South Island. Nowhere in the world’s temperate zones are glaciers so accessible, where remnant of the ice age cascade from vast snowfields of the Southern Alps to valley floors just 300 metres above sea level.
~The combination of ice and temperate rainforest is a unique feature of NZ's glacier. During my first visit, I did the independent walk to visit both glaciers, but the closest point could be reached was only 100m from Fox Glacier and 60m from Franz Josef, without stepping on the ice and only observed from far. I had decided to do the helihike (take the ride on helicopter to go up to the higher part of the glacier and hike on it) during next visit.
~However, the weather had turned down the plan upon my second visit. As the alternative, we joined the glacier full-day walk (8 hours return), trekked all the way up to the glacier and managed to spend few hours on the ice to see the spectacular ice formation, accompanied by rain and wind.
~难忘的探索冰川之旅, 从第一次的遥望兴叹到重游时因为天气不好而导致 helihike 被逼取消的无奈到而后参与全日行程伴随风雨翻山越岭攀爬上冰山亲身窥探其奥秘而衍生的惊叹和震撼，那触动心灵的感动， 是刻骨铭心的。
~望着眼前巍峨的冰山，欣赏着晶莹剔透闪耀着蓝光的冰柱，感受着底下持续流动的川水，想象着整座冰川正以每年200m的速度移动着，不得不赞叹大自然的伟大，也感叹人类的渺小。
Highlights:
~Glacier walk
~Lake Metheson- Mirror Lake
*Price list for reference based on the activities that I had short-listed:
Franz Josef:
Helihike $399 ($350 for group member)
-I emailed them and got discount for my group of 7 person therefore proceeded for reservation, unfortunately the weather was bad on my arrival day therefore the helihike was cancelled.
(Anyone plan to do helihike, it is recommended to do in Franz Josef but be prepared that it is very weather-dependent)
-Only Half-day or Ful-day Walk could be done, but the walking is conducted by another company, they did not give any discount and their staff was not friendly also therefore I had decided to do the walking in Fox Glacier.
Fox Glacier
Full-day Walk $145 ($5 discount for BBH/YHA member)
(Price quoted include hire of water-proof jacket, water-proof pants, shoes, backpack, gloves)
-The staffs are friendly and the guides are good too.
(Anyone plan to explore the glacier by walking, Full-Day Walk in Fox Glacier is more recommended).
