Saturday 28th February
We set off from Haast and after a few miles came to the viewing area for Waita Beach.


A little further along the road was particularily close to the beach and there were warnings that debris could wash over onto the road. Again there were huge pieces of driftwood but here the water was full of something that coloured the surf black.


On the way north to The Glacier Region the Southern Alps towered over the rainforest and there were lots of fast flowing rivers.

We hiked off the main trail to get near the face of Fox Glacier. The glacier had receded and the trail was littered with a variety of boulders, stones and pebbles. We crossed several icy cold streams to get as close to the ice as a local said was safe.

Large lumps of ice had broken and were being washed downstream.

We travelled on through miles of thick forest that spread up the mountain sides.

Later we hiked up a trail to the viewing point for the bigger Franz Josef Glacier. We were surprised to learn that this glacier has increased in size since the 1970's but it is still far smaller than it was 100 years ago.

We are staying the night in Franz Josef Glacier, a small town, and we can see the glacier very easily from the settee in our room.