Franz Josef is home the the highest and steepest commercially climbed glacier in the world (everywhere has some claim to fame and we buy it everytime, suckers!) Nevertheless, when it's on your doorstep, you have to hike up it.

So we got on our gear and made our way to the glacier with a group and a guide. It wasn't as cold as I expected and also strange as we were on glacier surrounded by a rainforest. Leah did throw a bit of a Smith strop as we were relegated to the 'special' group as the others were all full. This meant that we had to walk slower due to the age of some other group members, and wear ear plugs due the nationality of other group members (yes, our friends from across the Atlantic Ocean really are THAT LOUD).

We got to wear proper ice shoes, and the nice men carved out steps for Miss Uttoxeter to walk along! We did get told off for using our cameras when we should have been holding on, seems to be a pattern here with guides telling us off for misbehaving. A few ice cuts to the fingers are all I can report, but when the sign says X-treme danger and chance of death, it's not too bad going!

The following day we tried out a spot of quad biking, something I would thoroughly recommend! Like a divvy, I could not get mine started so as the others were tearing around the course I was learning the basic turn-key-in-ignition technique. And so we set off and within minutes I'd gotten whiplash (Bekkie obviously wasn't listening to the basic techniques, ie braking, either).

I also nearly died as I accelerated down a ditch instead of applying the breaks. Note to self; must listen to safety briefing in future. One of my finer moments was purposefully wheel spinning and splattering Leah in the face with mud. Genius!

At the end, we all had to be hosed down on account of the wet mud on the protective gear they provided. I asked the guide for the hosepipe to help wash down Leah. Do I really look that innocent?! Daft Aussie handed it over, along with the brush and got a good hosing down himself from me and Leah! And this time we did not get told off. He was loving it!

So leaving behing the fun and frollicks of Franz for the next stop...

Katherine xxx