New Zealand - Day 11 - Fox Glacier

December 28, 2018

7am start waking up to the sound of the ocean. A quick breakfast and then the kids went to play on the beach while we got ready.

Set off by 9am and drove for an hour stopping at the tree top walk for coffee. It was super expensive, but really fun. We walked around the structure enjoying the view and tried to avoid looking down. The tower was exciting and nerve racking as it swayed when people walked up and down the stairs. Wonderful views of the surrounding area and rainforest.

Ice cream when we got back to the cafe and then we got going for the second part of the journey down to Fox’s glacier.

We’re moving from the ocean towards the mountains and the roads are getting twisty with switchbacks and corner after corner. We usually end up with a queue of traffic behind us and pull in at the end of each section to let people pass.

Lunch was sandwiches at a rest stop by a lake not far from the Franz Glacier. The township was really busy and looked very much like a tourist trap. We tried to get Diesel and failed (the garage had run out) and then kept on moving.

Another 20km along the road and we entered the Fox Glacier township. We passed through to the Lake Matheson car park and got out for our walk of the day - a loop of Lake Matheson to see if we could spot the reflection of the mountains in the lake. It was a little bit windy so the surface of the lake wasn’t in a reflecting state but we did have a great view of the mountains.

After the 5km circular route we stopped in the cafe for drinks and cake. Bella had a fantastic rocky road which took some eating.

Onward to the “Top 10” campsite which was just a few minutes drive down the road. Once we’d got the camper setup we had appero and started cooking the bbq.

The Top 10 site is pretty crowded and commercial, quite a contrast to the secluded spots we’ve been staying so far but there’s a big playground for the kids and the facilities are great.

After dinner I cycle the mountain bike track to Fox Glacier to scout it out for tomorrow while everyone else enjoys a movie in the camper.

The route starts off through the rain forest and ends right next to the glacier run off, a really spectacular view. Really looking forward to walking to the glacier face tomorrow.

Distance traveled today: 215km

Grand total: 1577km