Day 10 - Normal service to be resumed

Saw a lot of water today - some of it frozen! Forecast was for the wet weather to return later in the day so we started off early with a walk up to the Fox Glacier terminal. This was a leisurely walk up over the river bed to the ice. There was a marked end at a viewpoint but it was straightforward to get up close to the ice. Lots of giant ice cubes in the river here!

We went for brunch at Lake Matheson cafe before a walk around the lake. One is meant to get a great view here of Mount Cook reflected - not today! Still, we got the idea, before heading off to Franz Josef Glacier. Again an easy walk up to the viewpoint. The Glacier here is more dramatic. (For those that like facts and figures, this is one of the fastest moving glaciers at over 1m per day, sometimes 5m per day, and is currently advancing as melt is slower than accumulation! It is still very short of its 1752 end point though.) We carried on up the path used by the Glacier Guides (feeling we were not an inexperienced party). This took us up a stream through the undergrowth with some fixed ropes. All good fun in the, now, pouring rain. We couldn't get as close as we had at Fox glacier due to not wanting to wade through melt water (at any depth!). Still, a good walk before heading north to find some accommodation overnight at Greymouth, and below average curry. :o(