New Zealand: South Island - Glacier Country

From Greymouth, we continued our drive down the west coast to see the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.  The glaciers are easily accessible, making them popular tourist attractions.  They are unique in that they descend from the Southern Alps through rain forest and end only about 300 meters above sea level and about 12 miles from the Tasman Sea.  The face of Franz Josef has become unstable so walking on the glacier now requires a helicopter flight.  However, we could still walk to the face.  As we walked, the massive cliffs towering over us made us feel like we had entered Middle Earth and should be looking for Frodo.

We also walked part of the Alex's Knob trail through lush rain forest to reach higher ground, hoping for a different view of the glacier.  Unfortunately, as we climbed, the clouds settled in over the top of the mountains and we couldn't see much.  The forest was so dense that when it did start to rain, we hardly felt it.

Beautiful view as we walked to the glacier face. 

Terminal face of Franz Josef Glacier

Me next to one of the many waterfalls.  

Simon in the rain forest

We visited Fox Glacier, which is about 12 miles south of Franz Josef, as we began our drive to Queenstown.  It was only a thirty minute walk to the terminal face of Fox Glacier.  Along the way, posted signs constantly warn you to stay on the marked trail due to potential falling rocks, ice, and even flash floods.  Even though we didn't walk on either of the glaciers, they were incredible sights to see.  

Simon in front of the terminal face of Fox Glacier

No Stopping for 500 meters

Safety First

In the glacier area, we also stopped off at Lake Matheson.  Also known as, "mirror lake," Lake Matheson is famous for its reflections of the nearby Southern Alps.  Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we visited and the mountain peaks were not visible.  The reflections, though, were still perfect.

Clouds reflected in Lake Matheson