Glaciers

We've spent the last two days travelling down the west coast of New Zealand - a spectacular journey which necessitated many photo stops. Although glaciers aren't new to me, having seen many (and slept on a few) I still love seeing the different characteristics each river of ice possesses. So Franz Josef and Fox glaciers were definitely on my New Zealand hit list.

We arrived at Franz Josef in the evening and raced to get to the glacier viewpoint before dark. We were rewarded with beautiful views of the glacier snout, with the upper part shrouded in a strange, blue cloud which contrasted with the sunlit cloud on the surrounding mountains.

After staying overnight in Franz Josef, we got up early to walk up to Fox glacier before our long drive south to Queenstown. Again, the early bird card paid off and we reached the glacier just as the sun started spilling over the surrounding hills. Spectacular lighting and managed to get a few photos in before the light became too bright. We were also treated to a rather close up experience with the local Kea, who are altogether too tame for wild birds! Around 700 photos taken so far - I'm going to have some serious editing to do when I get home!