Franz Josef Glacier - Day 30

We had booked a heli-hike tour for March 26th, and it was supposed to start at 12pm. It was already quite rainy in Okarito in the morning, but we still had hope that the weather might be better at the Franz Josef Glacier (FJ for short). So we drove there with hope, but the weather didn't improve. When we arrived at the 'Helicopter Line' store, we were informed that the flight and the hike on the glacier had been canceled. However, we could try again the next day, as there were still available spots. We knew the weather forecast (even more rain), so we declined. For comparison: on the booked day, about 4 mm of rain were forecasted. On the following day, it was around 60 mm at noon. No chance! Extremely disappointed, we consumed comfort food at the nearby café and thought about what we could do instead of the 3-hour heli-hike tour.

Since we no longer had a helicopter available, we decided to walk the approximately one-hour hike to the base of the glacier on foot. The path was quite nice, with many stones, and the water in the rivers had a beautiful milky-blue color. The view was foggy and misty due to the rain clouds. The rain was clearly good for the waterfalls. When we reached the fenced-off area, the safest and closest point to the glacier tongue at the time, it was still foggy and rainy. So unfortunately, we could only see the gray-blue-white beginning of the glacier tongue. Not very impressive. 'Let it continue to melt,' Jörg thought. 'But at least we saved 900 dollars for the heli-hike tour.' Well well, tourists can't influence the weather... luckily. 'If only we had brought liquid nitrogen and shot it into the atmosphere...,' Jörg continued to fantasize. The information board with the accidents on the glacier was the most interesting. A few years ago, a helicopter pilot mistook the glaciers (Franz Josef and Fox) and crashed with the passengers... If it wasn't so sad, they could have been awarded with the Darwin Award for that. Jörg was disappointed, didn't want to take any photos. Luckily, his always radiant sun hopped around him and made him laugh again, even though her feet were completely wet :-)))) Next time in New Zealand, we will definitely make up for the heli-hike tour! Otherwise, Iceland surely has beautiful glaciers to offer and is also much closer ;-)

In the evening, the weather cleared up over Okarito, as it was located right on the coast. So we went to the black sand beach and even (partly) into the relatively rough sea... A wonderful evening, a day with a reconciling ending... :)))