Day 38 (March 5th) - Fox Glacier, Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Matheson

We had a lot planned for today, so we set our alarm for 7 am. In reality, we got up at 8 am, which was still early for us. First, we drove to Fox Glacier, which was just around the corner from our campsite. We hiked a total of 6km (round trip) on the Fox Glacier Southside Walkway to the Glacier Viewpoint, with a slight detour through the Moraine Walk. The path to Fox Glacier was really beautiful. First, we walked along the river, and then we hiked on a road through the forest. However, since the road was closed at times, we took a detour (Moraine Walk) on unpaved ground through the rainforest. This detour was by far the most beautiful part of the hike. Suddenly, we were already at the viewpoint. Through a "window" in the rainforest, we had a perfect view of the glacier tongue of Fox Glacier. It was impressive to see a glacier that extended to a rainforest. You don't get to see something like this on a glacier skiing vacation.

Afterwards, we drove 25km uphill to Franz Josef Glacier, which is probably the more famous glacier of the two. The special thing about this glacier is that you can hike up to the glacier tongue (under good conditions). When we arrived, Tim went on a short exploration tour while the kids were still sleeping. Unfortunately, he had to realize that due to the high river level, it was currently not possible to hike to Franz Josef Glacier through the riverbed. The hiking trail was only open until just beyond the rainforest. That was disappointing, but at least we hiked the open part. We walked through the rainforest, past waterfalls, and occasionally caught a glimpse of the glacier. At the end of the rainforest, we reached the barrier and the river in front of us. From here, we had a good view of Franz Josef Glacier and were at least a bit closer than at Fox Glacier. The masses of ice rolling down various steps towards the valley looked really impressive.

So far, the day had been overcast, but we were still hoping for sunshine to see another highlight of the area, the so-called View of Views at Lake Matheson. The lake was located in the immediate vicinity of Fox Glacier, so we drove back. When we arrived at the parking lot at Lake Matheson, we had dinner first, hoping that the sky would clear up. At 7 pm, it finally happened, and we set off for the lake. Since sunset was not far away, we had to hurry. We walked through the forest to the first viewpoint and took a quick photo. Mattis said very sweetly, "There are mountains in the water." And indeed, that was exactly what we wanted to see. The reflection of the mountains (Mount Cook and Mount Tasman) in the black mirror-like water of Lake Matheson. The view here was already very impressive and mystical. We were so lucky that not only did the sky clear up, but it was also completely calm. So we had a perfect reflection. But we weren't at our final destination yet. The View of Views was about to get even better. Now we were really short on time and practically ran with Mattis in the baby carrier towards the destination (he enjoyed the race between his parents). When we arrived, we were truly overwhelmed. This "view of views" lived up to its name. The mountains were reflected in this perfect setting. The light was beautiful due to twilight, giving it a special flair. Simply fantastic. Mattis wasn't really interested in the view up there, but he was happy that he could throw stones down the steep wooden stairs. We had another view from a different perspective on the way back on a jetty ('Reflection Island'). By now it was quite dark on the way back, and we walked briskly through the forest. That was exciting too. The entire hike was probably 4.5km long. Mattis walked the entire way back, which was about half of the distance.

We slept at Fox Glacier again at the campsite from the day before. When we arrived there at 9:30 pm, the reception was closed, but we still parked there. We simply paid the next morning, which was no problem luckily.