Our Stray bus is divided in three groups for the Heli Ice Explorer that we all signed up for today. We are expected in the office at 8h00 in the morning to sign the usual documents and get safety instructions for our morning trip to the glacier.

Once we are all dressed up nicely in our ice ice baby blue jackets and boots - armed with our crampons in a small red shoulder bag -we get into different helicopters and start our scenic trip to the glacier.

We have an amazing morning with lots of picture time before returning to the village. We could not have picked a better day for this trip as we are told that Franz Joseph has an average of 200 days of rain per year whereas today we have hot weather and an amazing blue sky which makes that we have a clear view on Mount Cook.

The good weather makes that we join our glacier guides for an afternoon trip to a nearby lake for a swim. We get a bit of a tan and try the paddleboard before moving locations and trying some rock jumps in a nearby river.

This is an extremely relaxed afternoon and we cannot imagine any better end of day than a free trip to the Glacier Hot Pools, followed by happy hour in the bar!

Great day!