From Abel Tasman we drove to Punakaiki, our aim was Franz Josef but it was dark and we had a bit to go... we also wanted to see the pancacke rocks!

These are so cool, loads of completley flat rocks lying on top of one another, theres so many of then! Its amazing to see with the huge coastline behind it. Theres also the blowholes there too.

From there we made it to Franz Josef the next day. This was where were to do the Glacier Hike! I managed to persuade al to do the full day and it was amazing... we went in the last group onto the ice which meant we could go how slow we wanted! We had a 2km walk from the bus to the bottotm of the glacier, then a hike up to the ice. Crampons on and we were off, it was nice and sunny and the views are amazing. We had a cool guide which always makes a difference he was young and chatty! We walked accross some tricky parts and went through some tiny crevasses! One was really tiny, called an iris, so tiny our guide couldnt fit! but the rest of us could (although alice chickened out!) you had to walk one foot behind the other and put your body sideways to fit! Obv you got really wet and i wish i took my camera down with me! After lunch we had a fre steep climbs some with ropes to hold on to it was so steep!It was such a cool experience! After we treated ourselves to an hr in the hot pools which are supplied with the water straight from the glacier! it was nice and handy right opposite our campsite.. 3 tempretures to choose from, 40c being the hottest! Now i know 38c is perfect bath tempreture!

The following day we had booked to go Quadbiking! I was really excited because ive never done it before... we had a cool guide called Hollie and she showed us the ropes. The quadbikes were huuuuge! It took me a while to get the hang of it, mild panic at one point sent me up the boulder bank! was cool though, i stayed at the back so i could meander along! amazing weather and you got an awesome view of the glacier from a distance. We loved Franz Josef, sad to leave!