Yet another early start for us happy campers. Pasta made for lunch and all fulla muesli we made our way down to glacier HQ, just a short walk away. After a brief brief, the group were sent to get all kitted out; Socks, Boots, Ski-Jackets, trousers and crampons-check, check, checkidy, check check...

We were ready!

Time to disembark after a 10 minute bus ride, now all that stood between the 44 of us and the foot of the giant glacier... a mile of rain forest??? This to me summed New Zealand up beautifully; I'm so lucky to have visited such a diverse country, from the culture to the landscape, you never really know what to expect. New Zealand has a little bit of everything I value in a place, can't rate it highly enough!...Anywhoo back to Franz Josef (I wish!#, after trekking through the wonderful forest we were split into two groups that would later be split into two dependant on our skill level and the pace you wished to tackle the glacier. It turned out that there could be no more than 11 in each group due to health and safety. Hannah and I joined group 4, stood back and watched as the more competitive members of the group sulked and moaned there way down the 'rankings' into our group- I thought it'd be funny to walk in front with a limp but I refrained in the end. Before fitting our crampons to our boots we were given a brief history of the glacier, as usual I was partially interested in the Maori tales of how they believed the glacier came to be. The Māori name for the glacier is Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere ('The tears of Hinehukatere'), arising from a local legend: Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains and persuaded her lover, Wawe, to climb with her. Wawe was a less experienced climber than Hinehukatere but loved to accompany her until an avalanche swept Wawe from the peaks to his death. Hinehukatere was broken hearted and her many, many tears flowed down the mountain and froze to form the glacier...I always sensed my geography teacher didn't have a clue!

Crampons on (not an easy task for moi), we began our ascent of the glacier. The first part was arguably one of the most challenging, we had a steep walk up part of the ice which had since been covered by a rock slide. We were taught special techniques to tackle to the ice which made life easier! You could be forgiven for stepping on the ice gently as not to fall, infact the opposite is true as digging the crampons deep into the ground will give you better grip. We were challenged with various different ice formations-some natural, others man made. The real fun was climbing up, down or across the ice, being taught the different techniques along the way. The only shame was that the weather was a tad drizzly! This did however allow for the ice to turn an awesome shade of blue- something I'll never forget!

Tired and wet, we made our way back to the hostel...BUT WAIT! Did I mention that with our hike pass we also gained exclusive access to the local hot springs!? ATHANKYAVERYMUCHO! What a way to end the day!

Kind Regards

Oliver James Kenneth Smith