Alarm went off at 7am, & D&L immediately got u, dressed & finished packing. Got kids up & dressed in just a few minutes, & bundled into the car with only minor (sleepy) resistance! Got to the guided walks office at ~8.15, in steady rain & heavy, low, cloud. We speculated as to how bad the weather would have to be for the walk to be called off, & if we would get a full refund!

D went up to the front desk to check in, & proceeded to have a very confused conversation with the girl there, who needed confirmation that we were a family, that we were here to do a glacier walk, & finally, asked us to come back later to check in! Having previously announced that that was what we were here to do, we realised that the conversation was going nowhere, and retreated to some seats in the adjoining café, to await further developments.

A few minutes later, about 3 dozen very damp, mostly South American, bikers came in, & proceeded to take over 90% of the café area. A flurry of activity ensued, & we watched with amusement as several members of staff (for whom English was obviously not their primary language) attempted to serve the large group of also-not-English speakers, some of whom were talking loudly in their various native languages to fellow bikers on the opposite side of the café, & several of whom were still wearing their (very padded) helmets! Over the next few minutes, most of the bikers somehow seemed to end up with a warming beverage & a large plate of cooked breakfast, at which point there really was no room left in the café for anyone else, s owe upped sticks, & went back to the front desk, & browsed the shelves of the shop.

D deliberately stood right next to the check in desk, for a while, & the same girl came over & started to ask us what we wanted, & had to be reminded that we had already had this conversation, & that we were still patiently waiting!

Eventually (at ~8.50am), we were called into the boot room for a short safety lecture, & to don woolly socks & gloves, sturdy boots, waterproof trousers, jackets & hats, if required. Once properly attired, we were given crampons & boarded the bus for the short drive to the car park. The group of 19 was then split into the 2 families (us & "Team Singapore"), & the rest. Our guide was an Australian PhD geologist / volcanologist, called Zarah, who was excellent at answering our questions (both kids & adults), & gave very informative mini-lectures during the walk.

From the car park, we walked to the fence that we had reached yesterday, passing through the 500m "no stopping" zone, where there is an active rockfall area! Past the fence was a steady 15min climb up a rocky path, by the side of the glacier. Then we stopped to put on our crampons, & the glacial walk started, in earnest! Zarah laid down some very clear ground rules, to be followed at all times when on the ice: the person immediately behind her to stay at least 1.5m back, to stay clear of her swinging ice axe; to step exactly where she steps; to stay on the path, & single file only; & to take small steps, with a wide base of support, & to stamp your feet, for the crampons to be effective.

Almost from the off, Team Singapore (as Zarah christened them) managed to ignore &/or break most of the "rules" - & not just the 2 kids! The dad was chastised for wandering off the path a couple of times, & to top it all, one of the boys somehow managed to break a wooden ice pole. Zarah's admonishments were initially calm & measured, but after multiple warnings, we could sense an increasing amount of frustration in her voice. At one point, we wondered if the walk might even be cut short, as they did not seem to be taking the safety warnings very seriously, which, basically, put everybody into more danger.

The sleety rain continued to fall, & it didn't take long to start to feel the cold, when we paused to take photos, or to listen to one of Zarah's "lectures"! We were allowed to climb a short way into a crevasse, to take a few photos, but all too soon we were heading off the ice, & back down the track. Once back on terra firma, we were surprised to discover that we had been on the glacier for over an hour!

Both D&L were immensely impressed by J&M's behaviour & attitude whilst on the glacier, & they were rewarded with hot chocolate & cake, once back at the café. M thanked Zarah with some of her chocolate bar (!), & we all expressed our gratitude for such an enjoyable experience. We slowly warmed up, in the café, & after a while, collected our wet things from the drying room, ran through the rain to jump into the car, & left Fox Glacier.

The drive north was uneventful, with low cloud & steady rain all the way. We drove through Franz Josef without recognising a single thing, but stopped briefly outside the White Heron Sanctuary booking office, in Whataroa, to have lunch, as D could clearly recall having been there, 12 years ago!

100 miles later, we stopped in Greymouth, & found the Neptune BPs. Slightly "worn around the edges" look to the place, but a nice price ($62) for a bunk + dbl room, with real fires in the kitchen & 2 lounges. D&M had a bath (for the first time in 2 ½ months!), & the kids' reward was to have the meal of their choice: M chose tomato soup, J bangers & mash. L supervised homework, while D drove (several times) around Greymouth, to find the entrance to the supermarket car park!

Quite soon after tea, the kids went to bed, & L followed soon after, as a result of our glacial exertions earlier in the day! D stayed up 'til nearly midnight, using the free internet to catch up on uploading the blog! As D went to bed, the heavens opened, & the steady rain that we had driven through all day turned into a torrential downpour.