There were six of us in total signed up for the helihike and we were squeezed in to the helicopter according to weight for balance. Luckily for us that meant it was just Paul and I in the front seat right next to the pilot so we had the best views available.

The trip up on to the landing site on Franz-Josef Glacier took about 15 minutes and gave us great views not only of the valley were the glacier descends but also of the massive snow field that forms all the glaciers in the area. The flying sensation was very different to being in a plane, even tight turns feeling very smooth and easy. The view showed the magnificent shapes, crevices and waves in the ever-moving ice. It was difficult to comprehend the size of the glacier from the air and it wasn't until we spotted another helicopter looking like a dot on the ice that we could realise the scales involved.

The landing was smooth and our guide for the hike was there waiting having got a lift up in the heli before us. We were to have about two hours on the glacier before the chopper came back to airlift us out! Once we had put on our crampons our guide took us off into the heart of the glacier. He explained that as this is a temperate glacier, meaning it's at a temperate climate relating to both the altitude and latitude. The evidence being the rain forest that surrounds the glacier. It moves up to 5m a day, The pressure of the ice as it moved down the valley meant that different features form at different points of the glacier. In the centre the ice has only the pressure behind in forcing it down so as it slowly worked its way over a large rock outcrop it brakes away in large chunks like a frozen waterfall. At the side of the glacier the pressure is only from behind but also from the walls of the valley pressing the ice from another direction. This means that the ice forms caves and bridges that, in some instances, we were walking through and around.

As we started to walk the sun slowly started to come out from behind the clouds and where it hit the glacier it would shine to reveal the aquamarine through to deep blue colours. It is very hard to get a perspective of the glacier and its not until you start having to walk around and through these huge stacks of ice that have formed from the fault lines. What seemed like a simple stroll becomes quite a trek as the distant cubes of ice turn into huge towering pinnacles as you get in amongst them. At some points we were to stop as our guide used his axe to cut steps into the sides of these to allow an easy passage. After waiting patiently in line to climb down a crevasse we were told to come down one by one using the handy steps that he had carved into the side for extra purchase.

The way was led by a young Irish lad who seemed to ignore the steps entirely and trod on the bottom ice of this crevasse. The ice broke and he disappeared up to his waist in freezing glacial water. He didn't seem to perturbed by his but after seeing that we made sure to tread carefully. Our two hours on the ice were used well and everyone in our group seemed to have a good level of fitness so we covered quite a distance seeing the caves lakes and ice bridges that we were promised. With a distant thundering the helicopter appeared over the glacier, touched down briefly for us to pile in and then swept off the ice into the skies for our return trip.

I think that Katie managed to grin for the entire flight as you can see from the pictures. Someone might be after their helicopter pilots licence before not too long! The experience of walking around the glacier was amazing and well worth the money. Getting there and back by helicopter was the cherry on the icing on the cake too. Having finished our walk it was a quick lunch and back on the coastal road to head north with the satisfying feeling that we have seen the only three remaining temperate glaciers in the world, being, Franz Josef, Fox and Perito Merino in Argentina. Now not many people can say they have done that!