Today is a free day for hiking
on the Franz Josef Glacier and selecting other optional activities. The four of us are doing the Heli Hike in the
morning and I am going to Okarito Lagoon for a kayaking Okarito Nature tour on
the lagoon adjacent to the Tasman Sea. Bev,
Roxanna, and Louis are having massages in the afternoon.
As we walked to breakfast, we
could see the sun shining through the clouds and we had a good view of the
mountains from the dining room windows.
Following breakfast, those going on the Heli Hike met Nial at 8:40 am
for the short walk to the Heli Hike headquarters where we checked-in, signed
releases, and paid for the trip. After
another short walk to the helicopter pads to receive our boots, crampons, and
jackets and board our helicopter (6 passengers) for the ride to the Franz
Josef Glacier. The views on the ride
were spectacular of the mountains, glacial valley, waterfalls, and the glacier. After flying over the glacier with a couple
of dives, we circled the mountain face and descended to the glacier to join the
previous two groups that had been transported to the glacier. First we mounted our crampons to permit us to
walk on the icy surface of the glacier.
We were fortunate to have a blue sky for our 2 hr period on the glacier,
which allowed us to really see some of the deep blue ice. Our guide, Andy, took us on a hike and
pointed out the huge ice blocks, an ice cave produced by the pushing up of
sections of the moving glacier, and the numerous “ice sculptures” produced by
wind and rain. The Franz Josef glacier
moves about 1 m/day and has been receding for the past 10 years. This glacier is unusual because it flows into
a coastal temperate rain forest.
Although we were walking on ice, we were quite comfortable and warm with
the sun shining on us. Near the end of
our time on the ice, the breeze coming from the glacier stopped and a big cloudbank
proceeded toward the glacier. After the
first of our group left in the return helicopter, the cloudbank advanced and
covered the upper regions of the glacier.
A second group of people arrived for the next hike and our second group
left for home base. At that point the
home base made the decision to evacuate everyone from the glacier, because at
the rate the cloudbank was advancing they would not be able to fly in to remove
people. After enlisting additional
helicopters, we were taken back to home base at 12:30 pm.
We were met by our VBT guides
and I remained with the van for the trip to Okarito while Bev, Louis, and
Roxanna went back to the hotel to make their massage appointments. After a 30 minute van ride to the Okarito
Nature Tours site, we were provided a rain skirt and life jackets for the kayak
trip on the Okarito Lagoon. We had 2 hrs
to explore the lagoon, which is tidal, and the creeks leading into the
lagoon. High tide was 4 pm, which is our
departure time, and that permitted us to kayak almost anywhere in the shallow
lagoon. The channel was marked with
wooden poles and I followed the yellow arrows that pointed the way to the first
creek. This took me inland through the
marshes and shrubland areas that included a great diversity of plant life. The creek got very narrow and included a
small waterfall. Ferns were abundant
everywhere in this lush wetland area. At
3:30 pm, I started the kayaking back to the nature tour site where we were
served coffee before our departure to Franz Josepf. This has been a very different day when you
think that we hiked on a glacier in the morning and then after a 30 minute
drive kayaked on a lagoon beside the Tasman sea.
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