Fox Glacier
Driving in New Zealand has been one of the real joys of the trip. Our latest leg of this great road trip was the biggest. An eight hour marathon of a drive from Milford Sound to Fox Glacier. We have been avoiding driving at night but there was no way around it this time. At a gas station pit stop about half way into the drive, I asked the station attendant how is the drive at night? Is it dangerous? Her reply was “It's fine, except for those damn possums.” I asked her to please expound on this comment, she said “the Australian possum was introduced here and is a tremendous pest, they are everywhere and damage the environment – when you see them...aim for 'em.” With that piece of local advice we continued our way North.
Our main issue with driving at night was the mountainous roads, it is just not a comforting feeling not being able to see what road lies ahead. The thing we did underestimate was the complete darkness that descends on this part of the world. It makes for an amazing place to view the stars but there is really no time for that because when the stars come out so do the possums. We knew we had to stay alert as these animals are nocturnal, but I did not know we would have to dodge them like their sole mission in life was to get hit by cars. There is no scarier feeling then driving on pitch black mountain roads with your brights on and then seeing a pair of eyes reflect back at you. These animals are not like the possums we have back in the States. These don't look like the oversized rats we think of – these look like they came right out of a zoo or one of those animal segments on the Tonight Show. The are about the size of a small dog have a full coat of beautiful dark reddish brown fur and a very long tail which they can hang from. Not exactly the gross creature I was expecting to earn the nickname “New Zealand's natural speed-bumps.” The craziest moment of the drive was when we approached a good size one lane bridge that was being guarded by one of these creatures. As I edges forward I expected it to dart away – but it stood its ground. I got closer, it did not move. (Keep in mind that I am now committed to go on a bridge that is only one lane so I have to go in case another car comes from the opposite direction.) Not knowing what else to do I honked right in this animals face – it ran onto the bridge and stopped again. So this little guy was still blocking us! The only thing it responded to was the horn – I leaned on the horn for the entire quarter mile bridge with this possum running in front of the car until we reached the other side and it got out of the way. We finally reached the small settlement of Fox Glacier without a single road casualty and settled in for the night.
The South Island has two famous glaciers that still exist today. While much of the beautiful landscape was carved out by glaciers over the millennium, the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers remain in all their glory. Glaciers are fascinating phenomenons in nature. They are basically giant frozen rivers descending from the mountain tops. The one major difference between an actually frozen river and a glacier is the ice itself. Glacier ice is actually not frozen water, but compressed snow. This seemingly slight difference makes a huge difference in the density of the ice itself. Glacier ice is so dense that it absorbs all the suns light except for blue light part of the color spectrum. The result is a magnificent almost neon blue that emanates from the ice. The ice at the bottom of the glacier has been there for thousands of years with each years new snowfall accumulating and pushing down on the old snow.
It's one thing to see a glacier up close – it truly is a beautiful thing to behold. But, Danna told me that when she was here last time she hiked on Fox glacier and had an incredible time – that's all I needed to hear. We signed up for a half day hike onto the glacier. We started the tour by getting fit into leather boots to help protect from the cold and to work with the crampons (spikes for walking on ice) we would need for the actual glacier hike.
It turns out that the glacier changes constantly and the tour company actually has to send out scouts each morning to see which routes are possible to get up onto the ice. We got lucky – very lucky with the weather. Just like at Milford Sound, this area has about 300 days a year with some precipitation, and just like Milford Sound we got a beautiful, clear sunny morning in which you could see for miles. The guides kept raving about the weather and everyone on the tour was feeling really good about the upcoming adventure.
The hike started with a continuous uphill climb along the river made from the glacier's melt waters. We reached a rope that said something to the effect of “don't cross this rope unless you are with a guide” so we all hopped over the rope and kept marching toward the ice. We also got lucky with the entrance route onto the glacier. We learned that they had not been able to use this particular route for about 5 years before a week or so ago when due to melting and possibly global warming, the glacier has retreated to a point that allows an easier access. We kept climbing.
After crossing natural streams from waterfalls on the adjacent mountains and keeping an eye out for falling rocks we made it to the base of the glacier. The actual face of the glacier is very unstable and constantly breaks apart so we approached from the side. We stopped at a landing where it was time to prepare to get onto the glacier itself. It is at this point I start stripping off my clothes to try and breathe. When your plan for the day is to go for a hike on a massive piece of ice you expect it to be cold. In fact, nothing looks colder or even sounds colder than a glacier – it just seems like a different level of cold from basic snow. So, to be prepared for this I decided to wear every long sleeve shirt I have with me on this trip – layering that is the key. Well at this moment I am peeling off layers as fast as I can and they are soaked through. Danna does not have an issue as she is always cold anyway, so she is quite comfortable in her layers. As soon as I get down to one layer of long sleeves the guide announces “please put on some extra layers as it is much colder on the glacier than it has been so far” - crap. I put a couple back on and then we put on our crampons and get ready to tackle the glacier.
The scouts from the morning had carved a staircase into the glacier itself and we walked between towering blue walls of ancient ice. The sun was out in full force so it was actually quite slushy where we were walking. We finally got on top of the glacier and were met with an unbelievable 360 degree panoramic view. From the surface you could follow the glacier all the way to the mountain top where it originates. The other direction was into the gorge that has been carved for millions of years by the very glacier we are currently standing on. Pretty cool.
We then spent the next hour or so wandering around the glacier and actually got to see some very unique ice formations that had recently appeared. Because of the weather and the constant melting and refreezing of the ice it sometimes forms natural ice pockets with hollow caves and domed rooves. These natural igloos reveal that amazing blue ice that is below the bright white surface. There was also a huge sink hole that had appeared that was like looking into the abyss – a perfect circle straight to the bottom. Like all great natural features on this planet – standing in front of something like this is a very humbling experience. You literally feel like a dark speck standing on a massive bright white chunk of ice. But simultaneous with humility is a the amazing feeling of pure awe – it is not a feeling that is easy to find.
We had one more awesome surprise on the way down. With the sun out, our guide showed us to a pure glacial melt stream and suggested that if anyone was thirsty this was the best water you would ever drink. Danna ran over with our water bottle and filled up with absolutely crystal clear Fox Glacier run off. I felt like I was in that scene in the Waterboy where he takes out the glacier water bottle that always stays cold and glows blue. It was a great climax to the morning.
But this was only the first glacier we visited today! After we got back to the car we headed over the Franz Josef Glacier for a little compare and contrast. We got to the park entrance and took a 30 minute nature hike to come face to face with New Zealand's most famous glacier. The Franz Josef looks bigger and scarier than the Fox. It is incredibly steep – looking like it is dropping straight from the top of the mountain. We stood and stared – there is something about a glacier that you could just watch it for hours. Two glaciers one magnificent day.
But, as always no time to sit back and relax. We had a 5 hour drive ahead of us to Christchuch. The drive again was spectacular. We left the alpine highlands and drove through huge dry looking fields and mountains. As the day progressed, the clouds rolled in over the mountain tops. A beautiful drive turned ominous as we watched what looked like an Armageddon sized storm descend. But, somehow here in the South Island of New Zealand even this very scary looking storm was beautiful and wonderful to behold.
Our five day road trip here has been truly unbelievable. I wish we could have stayed for 50 days. Every turn or bend in the road led to a new view that one-upped the previous. This has been bar far the most jaw-droppingly beautiful place I have ever seen. Danna told me I would love it here and put together an itinerary that allowed us both to see a ton and we loved literally minute of it. But, this is no time to reminisce – we have a 6:00 am flight in the morning to head to the North Island and see what adventures lie ahead.
