Hi Everyone I am now in Wanaka..........not skiing unfortunately due to lack of funds, but i had the most amazing day yesterday- one of the best so far despite suffering from a horrendous cold type flu- we climbed the Franz Josef glacier and it was fantastic! We got ourselves onto an 8hour tour of the glacier, unfortunately it rained from the moment we arrived in Franz Josef to the moment we left apart from a brief burst of sunshine yesterday afternoon as we came off the glacier- but it didn't spoil the day at all, we all just felt incredibly hardcore!! We got to the centre at about 9ish and everyone was given matching waterproof jackets and trousers and a pair of enormous treking boots- mine were so big for me that i had to wear 2 pairs of thick wool socks, the left boot was also full of water so my foot was soaked as soon as i put it on, but when i told the guides they said the rest of me would be equally wet within minutes of stepping onto the glacier! We also got a set of talons to fix onto our boots to help us climb the ice which i was very excited about! So feeling slightly bulky with all the gear on we got to the valley at the base of the glacier, walking through pouring rain, to find out that the waterproof trousers and jackets were actually useless, so we were all dripping and soggy before we even got near the ice! Franz Josef is a warm glacier, its actually advancing as they get up to 60metres of snow a year ( the alps usually get 4metres on a good year), as its warm there is a lot of running water and puddles and its very wet to touch as well... obviously. The glacier looked amazing- despite the grey skies and rain. We took a 45min walk towards it, and then had to climb up a ladder and pull ourselves up a rope before we could get near it. Then we put on our talons, and began to climb up these huge ice steps which our guides hacked at with their axes- clearly these were not for people with tiny short legs like myself as i could barely reach up and had to pull on a rope to hall myself over them!! It was seriously hardcore- but i actually couldn't get over where we were, climbing up these shear faces with these steep cravass's on either side, then sliding through the smallest cracks where we had to lean against the ice and the other side of it was touching our stomachs- it was so narrow and i'm not one of the biggest people! We also had to cross these rivers which were running through the path and were pretty deep so the only way we could do it was to straddle it trying to step on the very edges- Paddy went first- he's 6.5 and was seriously struggling- my stupid stumps didn't stand a chance, but i had fun trying and got most of the way over before sinking my left boot in the river!! We stopped for lunch in a more sheltered area- but as soon as you stop the cold really sets in and we had to eat fast or risk soggy lunch. After lunch we got to the highest pass we could, where the ice was so blue and the view of the valley was amazing. There was also this tunnel in the rock which we had to jump through to get to the other side- it was like a slide, wicked! Its definitely ones the best things i have done so far along with the Andes trek, sky dive and horse trek-it is a must if you ever go to the south island! Awesome. Everyones a bit battered and bruised today- poor Claire managed to tangle her talons together at one point and fell in slow motion forward onto her knees- so they're slightly sore today- she also did the splits slipping into a cravass and leaving one leg up on the ledge! Its surprising how much all our legs ache- i think the talon action and all the steps must have done it!! But it was so worth it- and we now have 3 days in Wanaka which will be total bliss!! ( even if i don't get down the slopes!!!) Missing everyone so much- keep me posted on what you're up to!! love tasha xx