Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers

After a busy morning of cleaning the old van and exchanging it for a new van and a newer model (much to E-J's pleasure) we decided to start heading towards the Glaciers. This was a long drive and as we took in the incredible views we felt as though the past sad days had finally left us. The landscapes were breathtaking, with rolling mountain ranges and the most crystal clear, blue lakes.

As we drove along the deserted highway without a car in sight, we continually stopped to take in the most impressive views.

By 4pm, we were a comfortable distance from the Glaciers so decided to rest for a night in a beautiful little spot by Lake Lanthe.

There were only a couple of tents there and one other campervan. After battling with the sand flies and covering ourselves in repellent, we enjoyed a good meal and a cold bottle of wine, while watching the sun go down over the lake. It was beautiful!

Up early the next morning, we made our way to Franz Josef, which was about forty minutes away. On arriving, it was a little misty so we decided to wait around until it cleared. We then walked to the end of the pathway and crossed the restricted fence to get a bit closer to the glacier.

The glacier was impressive to see, but looked incredibly dirty from the dust of the rocks around it. It was not as impressive as Perito Moreno in Patagonia, which had a magnificient angular structure formed from being in a lake. We took in the sights appreciating them for what they were at ground level, though we're sure we would have found the views far more breathtaking had we seen them from a helicopter or small plane.

We then made our way to the Fox Glacier and walked up to the base of it. Again, we found it to be not as beautiful or as impressive as the one in Patagonia, but we feel that we have been rather spoiled by all the incredible views we saw in South America.

As we walked back to our car, Sam suddenly shouted out to E-J, "Look!" and just at that moment a most enormous piece of ice broke away, causing an incredible crash and explosion into the small stream below. We were so lucky to see this, as it was such a massive amount to fall at that time.

Pleased to have experienced this, we set off towards Queenstown where we were meeting a friend of E-J's in a couple of days.

Sam's comments: Enjoying the new van but not the sandflies they are everywhere

E-J's comments: The place we stayed at the night before we saw the glaciers was how I had hoped our experiences would be like in the campervan. The view from the back of the van was incredible and it was so special to wake up to something like this. I am also pleased I saw the Glaciers, but I'm afraid they're not a patch on Perito Moreno in Patagonia.