We set off fairly early and hit the west coast. The road meandered between mountain roads and coast. We stopped to see what the beach was like and were amazed to see the whole of the coastline in covered with piles of driftwood. It's a flower arrangers paradise! I selected one small piece of wood to bring home which would fit into my bag it makes a very cheap souvenir.
We arrived at Fox Glacier and chose a walk through the rainforest to see the glacier. We could have had a helicopter landing on the ice or a guided walk on the ice but why pay for walking on lumps of ice we can probably do that when we get home!
I thought glaciers meant ice and cold climate but this glacier comes right down to this amazing rainforest which was more like a jungle than the tropical rain forests of Queensland. The path to the glacier crossed gushing streams and waterfalls some which had to be negotiated by stepping stones which made an exciting walk and the glacier was suitably impressive.
The nearby Lake Mathieson is famous for its mirror like properties ( something to do with the peat in the water) When conditions are right you can see a reflection of Mount Cook in the lake , but the clouds were on top of the mountains so it did not work, although it did look like a shiny mirror. However we failed to find any Chinese wedding shoots!
By mid afternoons we had reached Franz Josef Glacier and decided to do another walk to see this glacier, I know one glacier is much like another but this walk was on the glacier valley floor so completely different from the Fox Glacier. We expected the town of Franz Josef to be a bit touristy but it is a pleasant place with a few shops, restaurants and motels. Our campsite is set amidst rainforest but is just a few minutes walk to the town. We have noticed that everyone seems to go to bed early and get up early, this was confirmed by bar which had Happy Hour 9-10pm!