We were supposed to do a heli hike to the top of Franz Josef Glacier and have a 2 hour hike on the glacier. Our flight was cancelled due to weather conditions. And the next day’s flight was probably cancelled. Would we want to come back next week? uh, no.

So we took the Valley Trek up to the base of the glacier.

It took us a while to shake off our disappointment, but soon were treated to some very nice views and a decent hike.

Trident Falls

It was quite the scrabble up to the terminus. The glacier is now the smallest it has been since the 1960’s and is receding more every day. The unusual thing is that is showing growth on the top of the structure. They are unsure what this means for the future of the glacier.

There were waterfalls all around the valley, bursting all around. It, of course, was raining, so it was difficult to get shots of them all.

In front of this cave is where the helicopter is supposed to land. The clouds and fog only shifted for a few seconds in time for me to get this shot. The only helicopters going in were to grab the guides who had been left up there for the day.

Some of the ice chunks break off of the glacier and tumble down the river. Our guide jumped down and grabbed a hunk so we could all hold or touch a piece of glacier!

And here is a koru from Lake Matheson just because it was my favorite pic from that day, and nothing else really turned out.