New Zealand - Franz Joseph

So we all know that Alison is into the more out there activities - we all remember the free fall sky drive, the white water rafting and of course the squad biking Hen Doo. But as a married women and a "been there, done that kind" of person, Neil thought that he was safe in the knowledge that his new wife had done all the crazy sports that can put you in mortal danger and that they would be safe going to NZ, the adventure sports capital of the world. There would be no zorbing, no bungee jumping, no paragliding, free falling, canyoning, caving or any other crazy "sports". Oh how wrong one man can be.

Heading down the west coast of the South Island and driving into glacier country. The first township is Franz Joseph, settled due to the Franz Joseph glacier, one of many on the NZ Alps, but the most famous due to it proximity to town. Franz Joseph is a very small township that consists of two streets each about 300 metres long. One street is purely accomodation and the other full of tour operators selling trips up onto the glacier via a number of different modes of transport. The first thing that strikes you about Franz Joseph is of course the beauty of the township in the middle of a vast range of mountains but also how noisy the place is. Helicopters take off every few minutes taking the rich, non backpacker types for the 25 minute flight over the Franz Joseph glacier and onward to Mount Cook. A very quick way of spending 200 pounds.

The Rogerson's (well Alison mainly) chose to do a full days guided glacier walk in a small group of 10. So on another stunningly beautiful day, blue skies and not a breath of wind at 8am we started our day out on the glacier. We were kitted out with all the equipment, boots, crampons, goretex jackets, hats, gloves, sunscreen and best off all ice axes.

It takes about 45 mins to walk up to the front of the glacier where you are met with a vertical wall of ice that you have to climb in order to get onto the glacier itself. This seems like a daunting task but it is made so much easier by the fact that the guides are out at sunrise cutting ice steps into the shear face for you to climb up. Whatever those guides get paid, it is not enough, they work so hard and seem to have a real passion for what they are doing. The guides fill you with confidence that you will be able to climb the glacier and make you feel like Scott of the Antartic.

You spend the first half of the day climbing up onto the glacier and then stop for lunch, wave good bye to all the folks that are on the half day walk and then proceed up into the blue ice walls of the glacier. What an unforgetable experience that was. Vertical shear walls of blue, blue ice 30 - 40 metres high on both sides. You squeeze through gaps in the ice walls not much wider than the key board you are looking at! Amazing...... At times you are up to your waist in ice cold water, in an ice cave so narrow that you are unable to out one foot in front of the other and have to this kind of Franz Joseph shuffle. The whole day was an experience that I will never forget and one that I am so glad that we did. More emotionally challenging then I ever though a day walk could be, neither of us thought it as physically challenging, mostly due to the fact you were trying to keep safe and out of danger (a pretty hard thing to do up there when you can hear the ice groaning). At times more touching the cloth than touching the void! We were close to the oldest people on the trip and I have no doubt in my mind that it was a now or never trip.

After nine hours on the ice, numerous cuts and grazes, exhausted and aching we are returned to the township for a well deserved pub of something very cold.