Franz Josef Hike

We got a good taste for the glaciers yesterday but we were still kilometres away from them. The best way to get closer is to hike to them. Roberts Point is about a 6km hike on the side of the mountain which will get us much closer. About 5 hour return trip. Let's go.

The hike featured a number of swing bridges, some more palm-sweat-inducing than others...

There was also a staircase built into the side of a cliff with a sheer drop on one side. Everything was built very solidly, but still got the heart rate up. The bulk of the hike is essentially on the side of a mountain.

We were impressed/concerned with how sketchy some of the track was. The last couple of kms were mainly scrambling up rocks covered in moss. We're wondering how hard its going to be to get down unscathed, but first we need to get to the top!

We are constantly checking our watches by the end. The last section seemed to go on forever. Our legs are pretty cooked and without the odd orange arrow we wouldn't believe this is actually the track. Finally we arrive. We get to within about 600 metres of Franz Josef (Māori: Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) and the views are sensational. Although we are somewhat concerned about the lack of glacier. I wonder how many more years it stays in view for here.

Ok, now the trek back down. Hold onto your butts. Most of it was actually spent on our butts. Too dangerous to walk down large sections of it.

Courtney decides that the trek down is getting a bit boring and tries to throw herself off the edge of the mountain. Jeff swings around to see the tail end of the fall; legs are over the head as she is flying off the side and out of view. Jeff reckons this is probably the end for Courts. His high-pitched scream confirms this.

She is very lucky. Falling onto a tree which her legs wrap around and somehow there is long soft reedy grass there. The rest of the trip down is a fair bit slower. Its too soon for jokes about the incident...

But we survive and tick off the most epic trek we've ever done. ~12 kms and 5 hours round trip.  

We jump straight in the car and get moving. Its about 3-4 hours to Wanaka, our next stop.

We have a look at Matherson Lake nearby Fox glacier.

We stop for some obligatory drone footage. Some of the valleys we are driving through, and basically all of the scenery, is stunning.

The Blue Pools is our next stop. Another short hike (we're over 20kms for the day at this point) and some more beautiful scenery. Crystal clear blue water, accompanied by some tourists singing songs in their native language under the bridge (the serenade-y kind, not the hobo-under-the-bridge kind).

On to the last stretch to get us to Wanaka. Again, more scenery from the car. It just doesn't stop in New Zealand!