Day 16 - Journey down into Glacial Country! An early start saw us sitting, yet again, waiting for the van to be fixed, but this time in a pretty wicked pizza style café called Bonzi with great pies, free refills and a happy waitress at last. Then, we finally set off, 2 days late, down the coast heading towards Glacier Country and Franz Joseff! The journey on the West coast is as described, 'remote beyond belief, expect for campervans'! It definitely lived up to its name, as apart from a few small towns (one which Adam funnily thinks Steve Redgrave lived in - see photo!) and many sheep there wasn't much sign of life. To see snow capped mountains on our right and the ocean in constrast on our right though was beautiful and on route we also stopped at the most tranquil and peaceful lakes we have ever seen..... sitting out on the jetty at Lake Anakau? for lunch, just the two of us was a moment to remember, it was as if noone else existed here. Then stopping at Lake Mapourika was again another 'picture postcard' sight. Turning the corner, the mountains became more staggering and soon the famous Franz Joseff glacier was in sight, a mass glacial iceway curving down the mountain valley towards us, it was very impressive to say the least! On driving up to view the glacier more closely we passed the marker which stated where the glacier had been in 1750, a staggering 2km plus just to the car park, hitting home how much the glacier was retreating. Even in just 11 years of being here last, I could see a difference, I remembered the glacier being vaster in size and less dirty, an effect now seen by the retreat of the glacier. It was still as breath-taking as I remember though and knowing that this and the Fox Glaicer were 2 of only 3 in the world where you could step from temperate forest directly onto the glacier ( the other being in S. America) made our visit here even more fantastic. Heading into the Fox Glacier, we hiked the hour walk to the glacial terminal. The difference between the two was quite apparent, the Fox appearing more rugged in formation and dirty than the Franz, but still as spectacular. The height and depth of the glacial ice was staggering when you were up close, such a vast entity within the valley. Finally with the sun starting to set, we drove down to 'The Peaks' lookout to see Mount Cook and Mount Tasman and the Fox Glacier dominating the skyline, then onto the infamous Lake I remembered so well from my last trip, Lake Matheson. I think I had bored Ads so much in telling him about it though, that he was glad we would finally be getting it out of the way! On arriving though, I think he too could see why it had had such an impression on me, as turning the corner, we saw Mount Cook reflected so beautifully in the lake and watched as the reflection changed colour and the sunset, an amazing end to the day! That eve with the internal electrics on the van STILL not working, we pulled up to a powered site within a rainforest retreat and I went to bed early in preparation for the 'horrible tiny bubble style helicopter thing' I had decided to master the next day to get onto the glacier! Wow, we were doing a heli-hike how lucky did we feel! Day 17 - The Heli-Hike The morning of the helicopter journey had arrived and Nik was slightly distracted I couldn't wait as far as I could remember I had never been in one and I was so excted. Donning artic gear again and walking like John wayne we made our way to check-in. After the pre-flight rigmarole it was on to the equipment shed for ice boots and jackets. They even give you socks and gloves how cool is that. The previous day there had only been the two of us booked on the trip now there was 11 of us I am not sure that helped Nik one little bit. Next the safety briefing and we were ready for the off. Soon Thunderbirds 12 whirred its way down to the helipad, approaching our transport it was only then that I discovered that the pilot was Joe 90 he looked about 15. I thought it was only policemen? Bundled into the front Nik and I were squashed together ready for our flight, from that moment on it was just a magical experience the sensation of being in a helicopter combined with the surroundings it made for an amazing journey. The views of the glacier and the mountains were just incredible and there was the FJ glacier stretching from the valley all the way up. You have no real impression of its size until you see it from above. Our pilot took the scenic route up and provided a commentary about the area unfortunately I was hypnotized by the whole sensory experience. All I know is I want a helicopter for Xmas. Landing on the glacier you feel very small and insignificant, making our way to a safe zone we then put on our crampons ready for scaling the ice. From that point on we had entered an unreal world one that I had never encountered. One of the oddest sensations is the distorted sense of depth perception. Everything seems so close but is actually very far away. Up the valley the glacier is crumbling and bits are dropping off sending huge clumps towards our group who respond with nervous laughter. For the next 2 or 3 hours we scrambled over a surreal world looking at scenes reminiscent from far away planets or from some twisted scifi film standing in ice caves, looking at huge cracks in the ice and generally feeling like we were the only people who had been there. The pictures illustrate this far better than I can describe.Some of the american 'kids' even braved it and jumped into a hole that the guide made with his ice pick in one of the glacial pools! We thought he was joking at first and we still did right up until the point he told them to jump, but when he didn't appear to burst out laughing at thir naivity or say 'just kidding,' the next thing we knew they were in! Perhaps if we had been abit younger we may have tried it too but these guys came out freezing blue and struggling to breathe....not for me this time!!Maybe in the summer not winter?!!! But the exploring did soon come to an end and it was back in the helicopter wahoo for me total anxiety for nik. We were soon back down on terra firma and it had been an amazing experience. Well worth the money and trip to get to Franz Josef. Treating to nik to a well earned piece of chocalate cake and me to a burger we sat for an hour looking at the photos trying to take it all in. Wow definately an engagement present to remember, (thanks P&B!), perhaps we could try this getting engaged lark for a second time in another country??!! TO BE CONTINUED....................