Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier

We left Queenstown and headed north on another big drive day.  The weather was grey and drizzly however we felt ourselves lucky with the recent spell of good weather.  The route made its way through the northern edge of the Southern Alps region with snow capped mountains still dominating the landscape.  The road wound its way along the only practical route through this area, the Haast valley.  The valley stretched for nearly 100km following the lake shores of Wanaka and Hawea.  The road now turned towards the coast and just before Haast (a small coastal town) the mountains and hills that had dominated our journey for the past few weeks abruptly ended and a flat delta now led us to the sea.  The road quickly turned north following the coast and no sooner than it did we were presented again with more snow covered mountains inland of the road. 

Our first stop was the Fox Glacier.  Since this trip was in the planning stages we had promised ourselves that no matter what happened we would do a HeliHike up one of the glaciers.  Using the bible as our guide we decided to do the more northerly Franz Josef glacier rather than the smaller Fox.  But seeing as we were here and not wanting to miss out on visiting this glacier we decided to do the tourist walk up to the face of the Fox and along with the bus loads of Japanese tourists we spent some time gawping at a safe distance at the majesty of one of natures finest geological creations.  With a full day already behind us but not wanting to waste any time we headed for Franz Josef some 23km up the road to book our trip and then we headed to a free camp spot to prepare for the next days adventure.

  We woke on the 29th October with the cloud started to disperse and the overnight rain coming to an end.  The trip was not until 11:15 giving us time to prepare for our big adventure.  We arrived at Helicopter Line’s office and was told that they had to do a final weather check in 15 minutes.  We waited patiently hoping that our dream to do this trip would not be dashed.  The 15 minutes past slowly but then they announced we were good to go. 

Our group was a total of 12 people split into two groups of 6 which was all the helicopter could hold.  We kitted up with waterproof clothes, snow boots and crampons and then jumped onto the helicopter with some trepidation as these things have got a reputation for not being the most reliable machines man has ever made.  The flight was only 10 minutes and took us right to the top of the 10km long glacier before setting us down on a flat bit just in front of a formation called the Black Hole some 800m up.

The previous group to ours was ready on the ice to be taken back down and the transfer was very quick and slick.  Once the helicopter noise had been lost in the valley below, the true scale of where we were struck us….simply breathtaking.  The Black Hole which dominated the front of the glacier was exposed bedrock that the glacier now made its way round.  The bit we were standing on was 150m deep, whereas the bit flowing round the Black Hole was just a few metres thick and moved at a speedy 4m per day.  To prove this point just as we started to get our crampons on a massive rock/ice fall broke off the top of the glacier and crashed down the face of the Black Hole making such a loud noise it was quite alarming.  This transpired to be one of the many spectacular icefalls we witnessed during our time on the ice.

Our two groups were introduced to our guides who were already on the ice and off we went to explore.  We were standing on a relatively flat shelf of the glacier a few kilometres square, with a high ice cliff in front which also contained the face of the Black Hole and a very large drop off going down the valley.  To the sides were higher, larger blocks of ice which made wild patterns and shapes…this would be our playground for the next 2.5 hrs.  The guides explored the area looking for cool things to climb through or look at and explain how they were made.  First they found an ice cave for us to crawl through which was a perfect introduction to the incredible blue ice.

As we got higher up the banks the ice became more fractured producing even more caves and ice formations to explore.  We turned a corner and saw the largest ice cave so far, which had a steep slope down to the bottom and its exit.  The guides produced a rope and using an ice screw attached it to the ice wall.  We then slid down the 10m slope feet first trying not to stab the guide at the bottom with our crampons. 

As we exited the cave we entered an area hemmed in by ice making it like a mini frozen football stadium.  Once our group had finished the ice slide adventure we stood around for a while chatting whilst the guides went to find an appropriate route through the ice.  I passed my camera to an English guy who was with his wife on their honeymoon and asked him to take a photo of us both.  With myself and Emma now standing on a platform of ice within the stadium of ice I asked him to hold on for a second whilst I reached into my bag and produced a ring.  Turning to Emma I asked her to marry me!  She burst into tears as if someone had just stabbed her with a crampon and she said yes instantly (I know, I was surprised as well).

My original plan was to fake a shoe lace incident and get down on one knee, however at the last minute I decided that a nasty accident could have ensued what with standing on a narrow ledge, wearing crampons and with so many people around.  Once everyone had realised what had just happened (including the photographer!) there was a round of applause and congratulation from all.  The rest of the time on the trip felt like we were walking on….well, ice and certainly made the adventure one to remember.

That night after a much needed shower we went out for dinner in Franz Josef township to celebrate our engagement with Emma telling anyone who would listen that she had just got engaged (I kid you not, poor barman).  I had chosen the place I wanted to propose nearly 7 months ago, but when it would happen I did not know and was down to when we got there.  The ring was purchased in Sydney airport during a delay to the flight and in a gap of 20 minutes were I had convinced Emma to read her book while I looked at gadgets.  The ring is a temporary one designed purely for doing the deed and once we get back to the UK and I get a job we will go out and buy something Emma chooses.  Surprisingly the temporary ring is already much loved and fits perfectly (luck more than judgement).  She wears it all the time as if modelling jewellery for a magazine shoot and I have already caught her talking to it like Gollum.

For so many reasons it was certainly a day to remember and is obviously the highlight of the whole trip.

Editor Comments:  Editor here and Chief of Staff.  Bill has written a wonderful rendition of the magical event, but I just wanted to add that I can honestly say that Bill asking me to marry him has made me the happiest women on the planet.  The beginning of this new phase in our lives is the most exciting and joyful in my whole life and I just cant wait to become his wife.  I would also like to reiterate that I am extremely pleased with my temporary ring…My Precious (as it is now known) will live on even after it has been replaced!  

So just as one adventure is ending, another begins - it looks like life is never going to be boring again!