– MARCH 09, 2015

Today kept our streak intact for New Zealand weather cooperating with our planned activities.  Every time we have scheduled something as an activity and the weather was questionable, it magically cleared for our timeslot.  This morning we woke up to rain and low hanging clouds that lead to the morning slot cancelling of the Glacier Ice Explorer tour.  We had the 11:15am slot, which was considered the “afternoon” slot.  Just 45 minutes prior to our time the clouds lifted and the sun came out.  It was by no means a clear sky day, but it was clear enough for the helicopter pilots to give the okay to proceed with the 11:15am group.

Fate can be sweet.

The Ice Explorer tour starts with a helicopter ride from the Franz Josef township to a makeshift landing pad right on the glacier.  A tour guide will then navigate the group through a maze of ice as he explains the dramatic environmental changes over the past few years.

Hiking on a glacier…words can’t do justice like a series of photographs can.  Please enjoy the series of pictures below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great experience.  We highly recommend it.

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For more photos of our adventure go to our flickr account here.