Franz Josef Glacier

Mt Cook from our helicopter

The morning started with a ride on the Tranzalpine train from Christchurch to Arthur's pass. About half of the ride was through the flat sheep country of Canterbury. Then we reached the mountains and beautiful views of the glacier fed Waimakariri river. We passed through many tunnels and bridges as the train climbed through the valley. The high country was filled with patches of beech trees. From Arthur's pass the bus took us down a 16 degree grade to the Tasman sea on the west side of the island.

After a lunch stop, we reached Franz Josef Glacier about 3:30. Here we took a helicopter ride and saw 3 glaciers: Franz Josef, running from 600 ft to 8000 ft. above sea level, the Fox Glacier next to it and Tasman Glacier on the opposite side. They were all impressive with blue ice, deep crevices and the dirt flowing on the sides. We also went by Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook (Aoraki), the highest mountain in New Zealand at 12000 feet. Finally, we landed on Fox Glacier at about 6000 feet of altitude. Below us was ice over 1000 feet deep. The sky was a gorgeous blue, and it was so warm we didn't need our jackets. On the way back, we had quite a bit of smoke in the air since a farmer was burning his field. The trip was definitely worth it. Then it was beer:30, time for a Guinness at the local pub on this glorious day.

Beer at the local pub, it's beer:30 !