Fox Glacier

My morning was greeted with heavy rain. I hoped it would settle before the hike. I’d be wearing waterproofs but still, who likes walking in the rain?

I felt sorry for those that woke up early to find that it was raining. It meant that they definitely wouldn’t be doing the heli-hike.

That feeling soon sank to the back of my mind when I saw that my cooler bag had been vandalised. Someone had cut the zip, removed my padlock and rummaged through my stuff. I didn’t find anything missing.

All the other girls had their stuff tampered with. I found my padlock in the bin for some odd reason. What was even stranger is that they took one of the girl’s lamb shanks left over from the night before. Tia had warned us previously that this would happen but I thought she was exaggerating.

Once I discovered that nothing was missing and my padlock was found, my anger subsided. My shuttle pulled up outside just as I made my way across to the reception. There was nobody else that was being picked up so I tried my best to hold conversation but I’m not a morning person whatsoever.

Fox Glacier Guides had a café which supplied the perfect pick-me-up. Their hazelnut lattes are heavenly. If I could afford a second one, I would have got it. I certainly needed the caffeine boost.

My mood lifted even further when it came to paying. I received a discount with my YHA card. Instead of paying $159, I only paid $104. That’s less than what people pay for the half day hike.

Now it was time to get out there and do it. I was kitted out with thick socks, boots, waterproof trousers, jacket, mittens, a backpack and crampons. It sounds like a simple process but everyone had to queue to get the right sized boots and have someone measure and set the crampons correctly. There was around 20 of us all together so it took a while until we were all sorted and ready to go.

There was a good mixture of nationalities and I even managed to seek out some Yorkies. I spotted the accent straight away and tried to make eye contact with this guy to introduce myself. No, not because he’s a guy, but I rarely see or hear anybody from Yorkshire. The accent makes me feel like I’m home.

Thankfully he didn’t see me as a weirdo, or at least he didn’t treat me as such. Both him and his girlfriend are from Beverley and are working in Christchurch.

On the bus ride over to the glacier, one of the guides sat next to me and we chatted for a bit. He seemed quite friendly so when it came to splitting the group between two guides, I went with him. The Yorkshire couple also sided with Dan which was a bonus.

It took a 40 minute gentle walk until we made it to the face of the glacier.

Here, we strapped on our crampons (spiky metal things that clip onto the bottom of your boots) and received a lesson on how to walk in them. It was a case of putting more effort into each step and making sure that all of the spikes dig into the ice for extra balance.

It was serious work but I couldn’t help but laugh as I felt like a sulky teenager stomping around. I guess it’s one way to take out all your anger and frustrations. I didn’t really have any at that point in time as the rain had eased off and turned into a glorious day. I was happy.

As we started our slow ascent, our group passed a girl who had slipped over on the rocks. First aiders surrounded her as she cradled her limp arm. The poor girl was in tears. Injuries were the theme of the day as Dan recounted all the different ways you can die on a glacier. Lovely.

I was already a bit unsteady to begin with but Dan reassured us that it’s all about being confident. Don’t think that you’re going to fall, and you won’t.

Piece of cake

Despite being on a glacier, I was heating up. All this stomping around had made me sweat. To cool off I took a drink of fresh glacier water. It was refreshing and the nicest water I’ve ever tasted. I wish I had a bottle with me to fill up but instead I had to settle with a few sips from Dan’s plastic cup.

It probably wasn’t the wisest of moves as I needed the toilet ever since I got off the bus. I went what felt like a million times beforehand knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to go on the glacier. My body hates me. The giant waterfall to our left as well as the constant trickling streams of water running at numerous points on the glacier did not help my cause. I needed to stay strong!

Mmm, tasty. Not minty though.

Having had a few wobbly moments, Dan felt like I always needed a hand. This frustrated me as he didn’t help anyone else from our group, just me. I wanted to do this myself. I didn’t fall over and was doing just as well as everyone else. I’d get no satisfaction from this trip if I was holding someone else’s hand the whole way!

It was my stubbornness at being independent that helped me boost my confidence and I started to believe. I had a vision of Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix. I then thought of Glee’s version of Don’t Stop Believing and shuddered.

At one point each of us climbed down a hole with the guidance of a rope. It looked harder than it actually was. I was the last person to go and wanted to be filmed. I passed my camera to one of the girls and started to make my way across to the opening. Dan followed me and grabbed my hand. He started climbing down with me! Even though the camera was still rolling, I told him that I wanted to do it myself. He looked a bit shocked.

From then on, I tried to be semi-annoying so he’d leave me alone. I felt a bit mean but I’m the kind of person that’s conscious of the space around them and holding hands with someone I don’t really know is a bit weird.

To make my point clearer I nailed the climb down and it was clear I didn’t need anyone to hold my hand. He left me alone after that.

We stopped for lunch but I only managed one sandwich and a piece of fruit. I’m not sure where my appetite went. I wasn’t even that tired either. I was hoping we’d be doing some crazy Spiderman stuff but scaling the glacier is a different trip. This was more gentle and scenic.

Dan could see that I was slightly cold and offered me a hat. I accepted but then realised that it was a knitted possum hat. It might have been cute if I was a child, but on me, I’d look like a wally. I kindly accepted and hoped that I wouldn’t get cold enough to have to use it.

As the day rolled forward, I got chatting to a few people from the group. As I mentioned before, there was Laura and Steve from Yorkshire. Steve is an Engineer and has been recruited to aid the rebuild in Christchurch. Laura is teaching there. There was also a group of four from Ireland but I only spoke to one of them who happened to have worked in America so we had plenty to talk about.

After taking many photos and ducking in and out of the glacier crevasses, it was time to turn around and head back to base.

It was easier and quicker to get back down. I had a go at hacking the glacier with an axe.

At the bottom of the glacier, I saw a few people from the Stray bus. They decided to do the Fox Glacier half day hike. Even though the rain had eased off, all heli-hike tours had been called off. I definitely didn’t have any regrets with my choice.

Back at base, I handed over all the kit, including the unused possum hat, and received a certificate in return. It was kind of cute but I couldn't help but feel like I was back at school again.

Laura and Steve invited me for a drink at the pub across the road. Laura and I happily sipped our mulled wines in front of the log fire. Time flew by and it was time for me to catch my bus. I was running a few minutes late but I couldn’t see the bus anywhere. It was quite dark so I went to the reception at Fox Guides for more information.

Due to a mix up with times, the bus had left. It was due to leave at 5:30pm but I was told 5:45pm. I wasn’t too worried to begin with as the staff there were so nice. One of them offered to take me back. Thankfully, the shuttle driver agreed to take me back and I only lost an hour of my life.

I was slightly confused when the receptionist told me that the people on the bus spent 20 minutes looking for me. Seen as there’s only a café, a convenience store and a pub on that road, I did wonder what they did for all that time.

When I returned, nobody even knew that I was missing. Those from the bus explained why they left without me but I really wasn’t that bothered. I was back at the hostel and nothing bad had happened. I’m just glad Fox Glacier Guides was still open or I’d have been sleeping in the pub that night! Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad…