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We had to be up early today to prepare ourselves for what was going to be a fantastic day on Franz Josef! One of the fastest growing glaciers YUP Growing despite the so called global warming. In fact it can and does grow up to a meter daily. And to make it even more interesting its in the middle of a rain forest, and would take a week or so to get to the top. There is a Maori mythology and, here it is??.Hine Hukatere, an adventurous Maori Wahine (woman) who loved mountaineering above all other pastimes, frequently persuaded her lover Tawe, to accompany her on many journeys into the mountains. On such an expedition the unfortunate Tawe, who had never been as fond of climbing as his sweetheart, slipped near what is now the top of the Franz Josef Glacier and, plunged to his death. Hine?s tears ? great in their volume, were frozen by the gods as a memeroial to her grief ? forming the glacier Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef). Now you have had a lesson here is how the day started.  So back to the start, we had to get up early ???? when I climbed out of the tent there was the most amazing sun rise you have ever seen, it held me transfixed for about 5min and as I watched it changed colours from a really deep red right through to an illumines orange. We had to meet at a hut in the town of Franz Josef to get all geared up, then it was a 10 minute bus ride and a 40 minute walk to the base of the glacier. It took an hour to even get up vertical steps to get to over the first ledge was a test for the old legs!(I really wished I had my cycling leg warmers with me) After a well needed food break ;) , we started on the most exciting area of the glacier. There was lots of climbing, crawling, squeezing and Spectacular ice formations that were even complete with tiny crevices to squeeze through! After about 4 hours of frolicking in the ice I really needed a pee, much to my excitement this meant I got to go on my very own expedition to find a loo with a view ( had to find a suitable place to go pee) not to mention I can now clam that I helped a glacier grow. Shortly after we descended to the base and walked back along the river bed to the bus when we got back one of the guides was soaking wet apparently she was leaving the team or something so the threw her in the river (bloody cold). It was an amazing experience, one not to be missed for any traveller to this part of the world!
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