After a messy night at the pub literally as there were leaves cards and bin bags everywhere we made it on the bus slightley drunk/hungover! We made a vital stop at a randem possum musuem but we skipped that part and got a cooked breakfast to feel human again! Lots of travelling later we arrived in Franz Joseph where we are going to do our Glacier hike! The Rainforest Retreat lodge was really nice and we went in the hot tub which was actually too hot to stand for long. Then the evening entertainment of watching the horrizontal bungee, one person was attached to a bungee rope and had to run whilst restrained to fetch a pint of beer for their partner to drink! Fastes time won an actually bungee was funny to watch but we were far too tired to try so after a while had an early night! Up bright and early we were ready for our Glacier hike our group was due to go at 8.30am so went and got kitted out met our guide outside for him to say we couldnt go as the helicopter couldnt fly becasue of the weather! A quick change back into our normal clothes, an early lunch and we were back at 1.30pm like they said for us to go again! Same routine our group was now quick at changing and this time our guide was outside with an ice pick, things were lokking up. Apparently not as it was still too cloudy so we had to come back again the next morning! Instead we spent the day at the hot pools which were free and treated ourselves to scones and cakes in a really nice cafe. Hurray we were up early the next morning ready in our ice outfits and about to get in the helicopter, it was a perfectly clear day and everyone was excited! It was scary but we coped and actually enjoyed it better taking off the a plane, we got up to the glacier and started to explore the blue ice with our guide. Our group went up new paths in the ice as our guide made little steps with his ice pick, we had to stay on track or else we would fall into a cravace and even he got scared at times and moved us on from areas he didnt like. During the trip we had numerous photo shoots as it was so amazing hard to tell in pictures though and I wasn't cold at all because we were constantly moving! We squeezed through tiny holes and tunnels in the ice and climbed newly formed structures all lots of fun, and by the end he trusted us so left us to make our own paths. Slightly scary but with our crampons to grip on our shoes we felt secure on the ice and made it back down in the helicopter! The rest of the bus was waiting as we should of left at 7.30 but due to our trip they had to wait on the bus, but we left and were on route to Wanaka!

Lots of icey love Amy and Meg xx