Today we're glacier hiking! Nick wanted to do the full day hike which I'm simply not fit enough to do so with some money I got for Christmas I chose to do the Heli Hike. So slightly different days today . . . .

NICK'S DAY: Got up at 7am, got layered up and went and had a double porridge to keep me going today. Make my peanut butter sandwiches and the rest of pack lunch and then Hannah and Chris appeared. We said bye to Ib and we were off. We got to the office and got suited and booted, jumped on the bus and 10mins down the road we were at the start. 20minutes through rainforest and we got our first glimpse of the Glacier; what a chunk! Carried on along the river up the rainforest, around and over boulders until we got to the terminal face of the glacier. On went the cramp-ons and were then split into groups and met our guide, Bret. A born and bred Kiwi who informed us on the history of the glacier and how it formed etc. Then we were off, slow and steady up the rocks before we joined the ice; it was awesome as we followed the guide up, through and around the glacier as he hacked the steps out with his pickaxe as we went. It was so amazing climbing over and through crevases and ice caves. After we squeezed through a very narrow high walled crevas we sat down and had some lunch. The came the tricky bit, we had to adsail down into a deep crevas then jump the gap onto the other side and climb near vertical steps into another crevas, tighter than the last. As we went through we stopped as the guide was still cutting the steps; during this time I noticed the sides of this crevas were actually running with water, the blue ice was amazing and so clear, almost see through. Almost at the top we came to some more near vertical steps where we climbed our way up to an ice cave. It was breathtaking, almost fake looking; the swirls of clear blue ice, as tough as steel, tunneling through the glacier. We made our way through the ice caves, it was so amazing as you walked through you could see the layers of ice. Got to the other side and carried on trekking to the top, where we looked up the glacier face and down at what we had achieved. Took some group photos and started our decent. Cramp-ons off, back throught the rainforest and sat on the bus. Cream crackered!!

ISABEL'S DAY: I knew I wanted to get onto the ice and hike but was worried about my fitness. I've always wanted to go in a helicopter so this was perfect. Walked down to the office and checked in, they weighed us all and gave us a safety briefing. We then walked to the heli pad and got kitted out, coats, hats, mittens, socks and boots - looking good! We were split into groups by weight (!) and everyone I knew was put into other groups, boo. I was chuffed as I got a window seat, the flight was amazing, got great views of the glacier and did lots of swooping and spinning in towards it. We got to see the full day hikers walking on the ice! Hi Nick! You get to go to a higher part of the glacier on the heli hike. We landed directly onto the ice, very exciting in true James Bond style! We met our guide, Dayle, who helped us attatch our cramp-ons before we started our 3 hour hike. It was so tiring but was so worth it. We had to climb through holes in the ice on our hands and knees, squeeze through wallks of ice, climb steap bits (almost vertical) and jump across gaps in the ice! It was all a challenge for me but so glad I did it. The best bit was the ice cave, it was huge and the ice was so blue. It was so much colder walking through the cave and it was practically pouring with rain in there. Our group also got to see a bit of the glacier at the very top break away and crash down, it was so loud and scary but cool to see all the rocks come crumbling down the glacier. I caught my cramp-on and fell at one point, ripping my trousers and cutting my hands on the ice - all part of the experience though! lol. Trust me eh! Today was a great day, one of the best so far!

When Nick, Hannah and Chris got back they all relaxed in the hot tub before we all had dinner together. All opted for an early night. Kiwi are being very cruel as it is a 7am departure in the morning, boo!