Chris and Andrea's Travel Blog: New Zealand

We spent two days in Franz Josef so we could explore both the Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier (25km from one another). It's a really neat drive to both locations because it's mostly rainforest and it definitely doesn't feel like you are driving towards a massive glacier. At both sites, you are allowed to walk up really close to the glacier terminal face (~100m away). Both of the glaciers had a huge cave at the face where the glacier meltwater comes out. There are so many warning signs telling you not to go past the yellow rope, but people still do and a couple years ago, two men were killed when the walked into the cave area and a massive chunk of ice fell on them. When we were at the Fox Glacier, a massive chunk of ice came crashing down and it was quite loud and scary. We were good tourists and stayed behind the rope to enjoy the views.

On our last afternoon at Franz Josef, we decided to follow and insider tip from our kayak guide in Milford Sound and head to some hot pools located along the Lower Whanganui River. We didn't have much for directions, but we did our best and sort of ended up in the right place, but really lucked out when some local guys came down the track and told us where they were. It was so neat beacuse you would dig into the sand/rocks and hot water would fill the hole. We had to make a connection so we could add some cold water from the river because that water was REALLY hot! It was a lot of fun and a nice way to relax after a few days of walking. Unfortunately, the sandflies really enjoyed the hot pools too and we were eaten alive, but we still had a good time!