Day 12 Fox Glacier

Overnight in the town of Fox Glacier. We asked around and considered both the extensive helicopter tour that flew around all the glaciers and adding a heli-hike that flies up to a glacier and let's you hike with a guide for 4 hours. We decided that was a little nuts (pricey) so we decided to do just the grand tour.

Had a yummy breakfast overlooking the peaks of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman. We went to the helicopter tour office and they said we were too early(they wait until 5 minutes before to verify that the flight is still safe). All was a go, but you were not allowed purses, bags,extra coats,etc., and they weighed you. We said, "Oh, we were hoping to bring our wine bottle to toast on the top of the glacier". She said, "Sure, I'm sure Sam the pilot would be okay with that!" No bags though...

We boarded the helicopter and Sam grabbed the bottle and pretended to drink... He was great! It was an awesome 40 minute flight over both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, around Mt Tasman and Mt.Cook, over the continental divide to view Tasman Glacier, then landed on the top of Fox Glacier. Craig and Terry had a snowball fight and we toasted with our wine. We now have about a gazillion pictures of glaciers and mountains. It ended with us flying down Fox Glacier.

We then hiked around Lake Matheson, which usually has a reflection of the peaks in it, but the clouds were rolling in. The guys elected to do a hike up the side of a cliff overlooking Fox, while Terry and Suzanne went for lunch and more trip planning. We picked up the guys and went on a dirt road drive to a cool beach (Gillespies) filled with driftwood and pebbles with another great view of the mountains. We didn't do the hike there, but came back to our motel to sit with wine and the mountain view and figure out the next adventures. Skipping dinner tonight..