Round-the-south

Waking up to a beautiful blue sky we were jumping around the dorm room like spring lambs. Today we would fly in a helicopter to truly see the mammoth glaciers and Mount Cook.

We had a couple of hours to kill first so we started off towards Lake Matheson, the famous lake which reflects the mountains in its still waters. On the way we spotted a couple lugging large backpacks and a suitcase along the gravelly side of the road. We'd spoken about picking hitch hikers up every time we passed one on the cold NZ roads, so we finally put our words jnto action.

The two cold Isrelis gratefully jumped in. Dor was a winemaker and Adi had come over to explore and find work. As we dropped them off in Fox, Adi found her bag with money etc wasn't with her and she'd left it at the curb side in their haste to get into the car. She waved us off saying don't worry and to carry on, but knowing it could take hours to hitch there and back we did a quick return journey and dropped her off with her bag the second time. It felt nice to help them out.

Arriving in Lake Matheson we were not disappointed as the waters were absolutely still and a perfect reflection could be captured of Mount Tasman and Mount Cook! An hours walk it was a good way to kill some time, and I learnt some more photography talk from James.

At 1 we checked in to the helicopter ride and the burly bloke behind the desk turned out to be our pilot! A brief saftey lesson (don't walk near the propelers) we set off to the helipad. There waiting for us was a little bug like green helicopter. It looked tiny for 5 people but had 360 views due to the glass going under our feet at the front.

Sat in the front for the first half of the flight, I was in the middle between James and the pilot, with all the cockpit dials whirring in front of me. I was very aware not to nudge the pilot or touch the dials so very carefully took my pictures.

As we took off I was letting out squeeks of excitement and terror in equal measures as the views were amazing. The houses and roads were replaced with stunning mountains and valleys. The terror squeeks came each time the helicopter went from flying over mountains to a steep ridge, and suddenly the ground became much much much further away.

Thankfully as we followed the Franz Joseph Glacier up we came to an absolutely breathtaking panorama of the southern alps and the Tasman valley and I became very camera happy.

We landed in a snowy plane opposite Mount Tasman and Cook. Walking through knee high snow we had 10 minutes to gawp at the site before clambering into the back of the green bug. More cosy I enjoyed the back more as you couldn't see the ground. Though a few sharp corners had me reeling. Following the Fox glacier down its valley we landed back in Fox. What an experience!

A few hours before sunset we walked up the valley to the end of the Fox Glacier. Compared to photos James had taken from 2009 it’s so sad that this force of nature is rapidly disappearing, thoughts shared by a Lions fan we met at the top.

We watched the Lions v Maori All Blacks game that night before heading up the the Franz Joseph glacier the next day. It had also retreated since 2009, and would soon disappear from view at the valley floor. We bumped into our Lions friend on the way back down. Travelling on his own he's blown away by NZ beauty and stated the rugby now comes second.

Hostel: Chateau backpacker and motel, free soup and waffles on tap.もっと詳しく