Fox Glacier and the mid west coast

Left Franz Joseph this morning and headed 30 minutes down the road to the Fox Glacier, the less popular sibling of Franz. Despite not being able to see as much of the glacier, the setting was far superior to Franz. A tall steep sided valley led in a curve towards the snout of the glacier. A drizzly morning gave way to beautiful sunshine. There was a curious sign on the path by the glacier, appearing to warn of being attacked by a seal when swimming .... (pic below). It's amazing how much the glaciers have receded in the last 12 years since we were here last, well over a km in one case.
Drove further south on a mix of winding mountain roads, coastal tracks and long straight sections where the glacier base would have been. Called into Ship Wreck beach where a boat that sunk off Tasmania floated 2000 miles to NZ and was covered with sand, only being discovered centuries later. The sand flies (think midgies, but larger and nastier) were out in force which meant running up the beach, arms waving to escape. During these antics we watched a small pod of Hector dolphins feeding just off the beach, around 10 metres or less out to sea. They are small dolphins with a distinctive rounded dorsal fin who love to surf the waves and play. After putting up with the flies for as long as possible we drove on to the hamlet of Haast where we are camping.Read more