The gang, in a crevasse

Today was out day to climb Franz Joseph Glacier. Things were looking grim as there was a fantastic thunderstorm as we were trying to drag ourselves out of bed. Luckily, by the time we got to the drop-off point, it was warm and sunny. We had about an hour's hike through rainforest before we got to the glacier. Unfortunately, the rain started up again. We passed the "Danger" sign and climbed a ladder onto a cliff. Then it was time to take off our shoes and put on our boots with spikes. A brief hike up the rocks, across some streams and, past the "Extreme Danger" sign, and we were on the glacier. It was really quite spectacular, as our guide led us up through the crevasses. Ahead was the tall blue/white glacier, on each side were tall cliffs covered with tropical trees and waterfalls, and behind was the flat gravel covered valley with a river roaring from the glacier. Unfortunately, the rain and hale continued, and the crappy gear they gave us was not waterproof. Luckily I chose to wear my own rain-jacket, so I was dry from the waste up.

Walking on the glacier wasn't too hard with our spiked boots and ice-axes. There was one scary part, though. In a crevasse we were walking through there was a hole, about big enough for a person. Our guide threw some ice down it, and you could hear it banging around for a long time. We had to carefully walk past it, without falling to oblivion. All in all, the glacier was amazing, but it would have been much more enjoyable without the freezing rain.

Taking a break

We made it pretty high, but not to the top before we had to turn back. We were all wet and cold, so we took the "express path" down, with a brief detour through an ice cave. When we finally got back, we changed in to dry clothes, and headed for Haast, which is in the middle of nowhere. We spent the evening drying our clothes. The "potato incident" also occurred, resulting in one badly burnt potato, and one estranged passenger. Ann, the 50-year-old from Scotland, hasn't been broad for 30 years. She came to New Zealand to visit her brother, but he had a new computer, so ignored her. So she booked a tour with Stray. So that's pretty brave of her, to travel with us young-uns. But she doesn't feel like she fits in, so she keeps to herself. That all came to a head in Haast, when she asked me to set the microwave to 10 minutes, since I'm an American and know how to do that. So I did as instructed, and went back to the room to sort through my wet clothes. About 10 minutes later I smell smoke, hear laughter, and accusations that it's my fault. Apparently Ann forgot about her potato, and its smoke filled the whole place. Now she won't talk to any of us.