Fox Glacier

On Sunday 13th July I left Wanaka to head for Fox Glacier. Fox Glacier is about a 3 to 4 hour drive from Wanaka and is on the west coast. I had not realised that Fox Glacier is so close to the West Coast. I actually drove along the coast of the Tasman Sea. The vegetation is really quite tropical. Its a land of rivers, creeks, bridges and tree covered mountains . Those of you who know me know I don't like the cold so this change of climate is a very welcome surprise for me.

I got to the town of Fox Glacier about 5 pm. Its quite small and I found where I was staying easily. I am staying in the best accommodation of my trip so far. Its called Reflections Lodge, its a family home Rae (Rayleen) the owner of the house has been spoiling me. Rae's family is very much into aviation, her husband and daughter both fly helicopters and their son is a pilot in Canada. The view from the house is right onto the mountains, it is truly beautiful.

I have managed to get 1 jump in so far at Skydive Fox Glacier. They have a Cessna 185 so I manged to get in between two tandems. I followed the first tandem out and was able to close in on them and got some reasonable video shots. The view is breathtaking, I got a good view of the Glacier and the mountains.

The weather got a bit cloudy so I have not been able to get any more jumps in yet. I have been doing some walking and went around a small lake which is just down the road from the lodge. The lake is called Lake Matheson. Its incredible its like what I imagine a rain forest is like, the vegetation is so lush.

I have attached some photographs which I hope you will enjoy. Up to know I have taken over 500 phtographs on the trip, I can only put a small selection on the blog.

Finally I will be leaving New Zealand on the 17th July to head for Sau Paulo.

John 15/7