In our last few weeks in Fox Glacier we were waiting for a good day to climb "Mount Fox" (a 5 km to the peak track with a 3000 ft elevation gain). The forecast was not looking very good so when Wednesday, March 16 showed only "partly cloudy" we decided we better take it. It rained all day and into the night on Tuesday, but we woke up Wednesday morning with a little bit of sunshine. The sign at the trailhead gave a warning that the track is for experienced and properly equipped people. Information on-line told about having a GPS to be able to follow the track. We were just a little bit nerveous, but figured we could always turn around if the trail got bad or if we couldn't follow it. Below are a few pictures and a small video of our adventure, plus pictures of our final days in Fox.
The sign says "8 hr return" so we started at 11 a.m. to give the trail a little time to dry out after all the rain, but still give us plenty of time to get back before dark.
Already going up after just a few minutes.
We had a few of these little birds following us along the way. They are the "Fantail Piwakawaka." They follow people because we stir up the insects they like to eat.
This is what our trail was like. Pulling ourselves up over tree roots. The small orange triangle on the tree was the marker we had to keep looking for to follow the trail.
A short video of showing part of our climb
Made it to the top in 2 hours! Just past the river is the small village of "Fox"
The clouds were moving in fast.
This would have been a view of the glacier if the clouds weren't in the way.
A small marker where people scratch their names and dates in it.
Heading back down. Going down was worse than going up because of the slippery roots.
Back down below the clouds
Back to the road but still 3 km from the town. Total time was 4 hrs 40 minutes, but included 45 minutes at the top having lunch and enjoying the view of "clouds"!
Our Lamb Shank dinner as our reward!
Here are just a few of the people we've been working with and living with here at the motel.
This is Manuel (Manu) and Eva from Germany. They were here for 10 days or so at the end of February. We enjoyed playing card games with them in the evening.
This is Martin and Yoline; another couple from Germany who were here for 2 weeks in March. Martin actually designed and made a sail for his kayak while here.
This is a group of us working at the motel. We take a break everyday around 10:30 a.m. We had extra visitors this day to help celebrate Heather's birthday.
Annie and Carolina, from South America, brought Heather an apple cake for her birthday.
Celebrating Heather's 60th birthday!
Saying goodbye to our friends in Fox Glacier. Kaisa, from Finland, is on the left and Mike and Heather are on the right.
This is Andy, one of the friends we made who runs a motel down the street.
Our last morning in Fox Glacier. Another beautiful day!
The pictures below are from our drive from Fox Glacier to Christchurch. This is a pano shot of Lake Mahinapua.
Roadside stop through the Lewis Pass
River near Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs Bridge
Coastal Drive near Kiakora
This is also near Kiakora on the east side of the South Island. We pulled over to take a few pictures and saw these seals laying on the rocks below.
