Our lucky streak continued and the day of the hike was sunny and warm (for spring), a windless cloudless day. We still had to wait for the confirmation that the flight was on. Then it took an hour just for everyone to get their gear, put them on and line up for the helicopter. When we landed on the glacier, it was slippery and I was nervous I couldn't catch up with my group - most in their twenties. But we were given crampons and it was a lot easier once we've got them on. We had never done so much walking and climbing on snow and ice before. You can see from the photos that the glacier surface was full of mountains and valleys, tunnels and crevices - it could get dangerous.
The glacier from the valley floor to the top |
Approaching the top on the helicopter |
First glimpse of the blue ice caves |
It was like we were on a jungle gym made of ice, we crawled through tunnels and we climbed up slippery chutes. |
Doesn't this remind you of whipped meringue browned in the oven? |
Our guide had to periodically break up the ice to create a less slippery path for us |
What's going on with the other group? |
We got pretty high up off the glacier floor, the way down was harder than the way up |
Time to go back |
Still a magnificent view - but a totally different experience. We were so glad we did the hike! Next Post - From Greymouth to Christchurch |
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