Saturday, 7 April 2012

Plenty of Ice for a Gin & Tonic

A cool overcast day when we set of this morning to see the Fox Glacier.   Travelling back over the hill 27 kms to Fox and then a short 4km drive to the car park where it was on to Shanks Pony for the final 1km walk to the face of the Glacier.   Although cool it wasn’t too bad and although Pauline wasn’t sure if she could make it she set off with us on the walk.   Magnificent cliffs all around us and the sun was shining by then.

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      The Glacier in the Distance                  Surrounding Cliffs

The track is well maintained  (and extremely busy) and we took it easy on the 30min walk  to the face.   Last time we came here, 30 years or so ago the walk in was about 40 mins so the glacier has advanced in that time. 

The viewing area for non guided people is about 200metres from the face and you get a real good view.   With a telephoto lens it comes even closer.

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We spent half an hour admiring the view before making our way back to the cars.

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Around the other side of the valley is another viewing area, another short drive in for a different perspective.

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The view from the other side of the valley

It was decided to go down to Lake Matheson for a bite to eat and then a 30 min walk to the Jetty point viewing platform along a lovely bush track complete with suspension bridge.

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The reflections on the water were lovely but unfortunately there was no view of Mt Cook due to the low cloud.

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Lake Matheson

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