This morning I didn’t get a terribly early start if I’m honest, and in the end was still in town for lunch. I really want to go to Fox glacier which is about 40 mins down the road and do some hiking but I also want get down to Wanaka and then on to Fjordland.
The problem is Wanaka is about a 5 hour drive from where I am and I want to do about 4 hours of walking around Fox and now its 1pm! Not looking terribly optimistic is it? So as an alternative plan I decide to stay at Fox and get a really early start for Wanaka in the morning, the only flaw in the plan is my aversion to early mornings, other than that it’s a great plan!
The Fox Glacier is smaller than Franz Josef but still very very impressive. I hiked out as far as you can to the terminal face which wasn’t too far at all, A lot of the walking around the glaciers involve crossing fast flowing streams or in some cases fast flowing rivers. Now with the right footwear you’re on to a winner, but with the wrong footwear it’s never going to be easy. This is one time I had got it right, fortunately, and the streams are a breeze to cross.
At Fox there is a lot of information about how tourism began (back in 1880s (ish)) and was developed in the area due to the glaciers with lots of photos and information boards around. This was a time before good road access, knowledge of the terrain and
good clothing. These people were hiking the glacier in suits and bowler hats and long dresses, petticoats and pretty hats!
The terminal face also used to reach a lot further south, then, than it does now and hidden away in the bush was a chalet where the wealthy people used to stay with directions to a trek heading up to it with a view point of the terminal face. The previous short trek I had done in the Fox area was very conservative on its timings so I then assumed that this one would be similar! Mmm! It was a long tough walk, through several streams/rivers and all uphill, at least until I got there and then it was all downhill! It was well worth the hike though just for the view from the top when I came out of the rainforest to find myself so close to the terminal of the glacier, and once you caught your breath it really did take you back to imagining what it must have been like for people all that time ago seeing the glacier for the first time and in such incredible surroundings, it’s an amazing view.
Once I headed back down to the village I made my way out to Matheson Lake just 6 km away hoping to get a glimpse of the mountain range reflected in the lake which it’s famous for. By this time though it was getting on a bit in time and it was cloudy (and I was tired) so all I managed in the end was a 20 min walk and a visit to the gift shop!
Tomorrow I really do plan an early start.
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