Rainforests and Glaciers

Within the Southern Alps sits the Westland National Park. There are more than 60 glaciers in the park, the two famous and very accessible being Fox and Franz Josef. These two glaciers are unique as they reach all the way down to the lower rainforests.  These huge tongues of ice cut through the valleys and flow down through temperate rainforest to just 250 metres above sea level.  The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are particularly steep, with snow fall pushing ice down through the valley at a very high rate. Flow rates are up to 10 times faster than most valley glaciers. The glaciers are creeping down the mountain sides at a rate of 3ft per day.

08:30 am on the button you're woken to the sound of the first of hundreds of the overhead heli-rides of the day. The purists could easily have a case here. Are these rides the plight of the glaciers?  Combine an active glacier with a rainforest 5kms from a township and bingo, you've got a tourist mecca on your hands - Franz Josef. We decided to start our icy experience with a 5 hour hike up the side of Franz Josef to Roberts Point and then the following day take a guided glacier walk on Fox. A guided tour being the only way you can actually get out on the slippy stuff.

Before you start the ascent up to the point you pass Peters Pool, a small kettle lake. Kettle lakes are formed by huge blocks of ice that are left behind a glacier withdraws. When the blocks of ice melt it leaves a depression hole known as a kettle hole. These are found among mounds of rock debris that is deposited by receding glaciers.

As we crossed Douglas Bridge we spotted large blocks of ice floating by in the Waiho River below. As the trail climbs higher through the rainforest the path crosses over Arch Creek and Rope Creek swing bridges, the latter only able to take one person at a time - very wobbly.  We both agreed that we had never walked such a mix of terrain before. More of a scramble than a walk in parts with plenty of opportunities to get a boot full of icy glacier water.

We were rewarded at the top with a great view of FJ glacier. On rounding the final corner the glacier comes into full view. You're not sure whether to speak or just stay silent as blue lines of ice continue to be compressed by repeated snowfalls. The sun was so hot we had to seek shade to eat our lunch. So weird as we were so close to a glacier. This is one dynamic environment.  Near the top we heard the rumbling of a slip, we could just see glimpses of huge amounts of dust and rock sliding from the mountain. The roar echoed through the valley as large sections of rock tumbled into the valley below. We clambered for a better view, glad all the action was on the other side of the valley!

Our return journey was slightly more eventful, we had a black hawk down. Fe lost her footing and went a cropper slicing her elbow and grazing various other sticky out bits. After 6 months was the first aid kit actually going to be opened?  Not up the mountain as we hadn't packed it!  Even with the slip up we managed the 10km scramble in just under 5hrs.

Our Fox Glacier climb started at 8.30am so that were out early onto the Fox glacier to catch the clear skies. The boot room was our first stop. As we would be wearing clampons we had to kit up with some hobnail style boots. We had about an hours incline to get through first, once complete this then gave us access out onto the base of the glacier, by this point we had all removed a layer as it was a pretty warm morning. Then a quick stop to strap-on clampons and put a layer or two back on, we stepped onto the ice. Our guide,  Llewellyn, made impromptu steps for us with his vintage axe. At one point we had to slide sideways in between two walls of ice. The ice we were stood on was approximately 80 years old!

As the glacier is constantly moving daily ice hackers work the glaciers so that a route to kept open onto the glaciers. Global warming is doing it's thing and shrinking the glacier, the glacier has recessed 100 metres since last February.  Llewellyn pointed out markers where the ice used to be only a few years ago.  The dust storms in Oz gave parts of the glaciers orange stains!

The glaciers in these two valley are the only ones in the world, apart from Argentina, where the glaciers run right down to rainforest levels.  Through the neve you could see the tip of mount Douglas, the highest peak in NZ. This was flanked by Mount Tasman and mount Cook. 

This was an amazing day!