Wednesday 28th March 2018 - Frans Josef Glacier thence onward to Punakaiki

We were up at about 7 a.m and enjoyed our breakfast basket of goods which had been delivered the night before. It contained cereal, yoghurt, bread, preserves, orange juice and milk. There was a toaster in the room so we could make toast and also a coffee machine as well as a French press. Truly very civilized.

We packed again and then walked to the Expedition Center to check in with for our Glacier Valley Walk  There are two glaciers within a short distance of one another, the Fox Glacier and the Frans Josef Glacier. We were to explore the area around the Frans Josef Glacier but not actually walk on the glacier. There are many trips that can be taken from this place including those by helicopter and aircraft and there are also those that actually walk on the glacier. All of these are much more strenuous and our walk was to be less so, well we will see about that!! We checked in and were given a wristband which we then had to scan at a laptop. When scanned the screen popped up with your name and many questions about your health and awareness of the factors of the walk. I ticked “No’ to almost all the answers except, “Have you ever had knee surgery?”. Having ticked that as a ‘Yes’ I was summoned by our guide, Tom, and questioned about my fitness for the walk which would involve some ‘ups and downs’ and some ‘uneven terrain’. This was to prove a masterly understatement by my reckoning.

When our time came we repaired the the ‘Blue Room’ where we were offered boots, which I accepted as we would be walking through streams, rain jackets, walking poles and knapsacks. We suited up and then we set off in a small bus to the start of the walk, We were a party of 8, two from Ireland, two from India (on their honeymoon), two from Taiwan and ourselves from NYC. Quite a diverse crowd. Our guide, Tom, was from Pennsylvania and worked some of the year in New Zealand and some of the year in Alaska. He was a very personable and knowledgeable guy who gave us great information about the flora, fauna and the geology of the area. At the start of the walk is a photo taken in the late 1800’s by a Mr Pringle, who Tom said also invented the Pringles potato chips, but this seemed a bit of a tall story!! He pointed out many interesting plants and trees on the way including a spiky plant known as the Lands,,,,, tree. We also saw a fantail bird which swooped around us. We walked through quite dense bush, off the public trail and eventually came out into the open where we got our first glimpse of the glacier. Tom explained how the snow falls on the high plateau called the ‘neve’ which is like a snow basin. The snow then compacts and eventually starts its slide down the mountainside. The center part traveling at as much as 5 meters per day and the slower parts at 1 meter per day. Due to the changes in climate the glacier is receding and is much less than it was even a few years ago. But it does expand every now and then for short periods but the trend is recession.


Tom told us  hilarious story about a kea bird, a kind of parrot which seems to have a predilection for stealing the equipment of unwary climbers and explorers of this area. In one case, a young lady had her sneakers stolen by one of these birds and while she was chasing the thief, another came and removed her pants from her campsite!! Although this story seems to be a bit 'tall' a check on Google for 'kea' bird will show a number of You-Tube videos of these birds doing all sorts of naughty stuff!!

We didn't actually see one but this is what the Kea looks like, if you see one, watch put for your belongings!!

As we walked we passed the most beautiful waterfalls which you could almost stand under, they were falling down the vertical cliff faces along the trail.

The glacier brings down rocks and mud and the river below is a concrete grey color with all the sediment which is contained in the flow. The river bed is rising as a consequence and is now above the level of the town of Frans Josef. This may mean that the town will have to move in the next decade. We walked on and eventually came to a fence which said “Do no go beyond here”. Tom said let’s do it anyway and we crossed the fence and the terrain became mush more loose and steeper. This was quite a scramble for me but we all made it. Every time we came over a hill or a mound of morrain, the view became better and better until we almost seemed to be at the foot of the glacier. It was hard going and my knees will feel the effects of it for some time but it was well worth it.

Views of the Frans Josef Glacier

The Waiho River that ran from the foot of the glacier

Our guide, Tom, rescuing a piece of glacier ice

We scrambled back down and came to the edge of the river where Tom jumped down to the edge of the river and came back up with a large chunk of glacier ice for us all to see and handle. Then it was on back to start of the walk and to the minibus to take us back to the center again, tired and hot and weary but thrilled with our experience. We returned our equipment and bade Tom farewell. The whole experience had been extremely well and professionally organized and coordinated and the arrangements were exceptional. This is is how it should be done, with safety, care and yet allowing some degree of flexibility ot give guests an experience which is a rather more than anodyne. Yes, there could have been risks with scrambling such loose rocks but, so what??

One of the many stunning waterfalls

We all took turns to handle the glacier ice before returning it to the river

A picture of our multi-national group

Before heading north we tried to go to get a view of the neve from a spot beside Frans Josef airport but the cloud was too thick by the time we got there

After we left Frans Josef in the car we headed north along the coast for Punakaiki where our next hotel was located right on the beach. It would be about a three to four hour drive depending upon when and if we stopped on the way.

The countryside was very varied with mountains on the right (inland) side and the shore one the left. As usual we climbed up and then swung down mountains and crossed plains where there were many farms but little population. We passed through occasional small villages where there might be a café or perhaps a gas station but, it seemed little else. But the varying scenery was never dull.

We stopped in the small bustling town of Hokitiki which was a much larger town and had a cup of coffee and a slice of cake at the cinema café which was like an old milk bar. The town had quite a number of shops and one, across the street from the café was selling merino wool and possum fur clothing. The possums were introduced from Australia just for harvesting their fur. They have become a pest as there are millions of them in New Zealand now. The clothes which are made of this combination are wonderfully soft and warm but are quite expensive. We did buy some gloves and a couple of other things here before setting off on our way again.

We arrived at Punakaiki Resort Hotel at about 6.30 p.m. and made a reservation for dinner at 7.30 p.m. After a shower and freshen up we had dinner in the dining room overlooking the beach, the surf and the setting sun.

It had been another quite long day but we had very much enjoyed it.