Another day, another national park! This time it is the Westland Tai Poutini National Park (www.doc.govt.nz/../westland-tai-poutini-national-park) about half way down the west cost of New Zealand’s south island. Our first hike is to the Franz Joseph Glacier and I see they have added a new sign – very up to date on their technology.

The glacier goes through cycles of advancing and retreating. It has been retreating since 2008. When advancing, it can advance by up to 70 cm per day – a phenomenal distance by glacial standards. We set off up the valley on a fairly cloudy day and passed several impressive water falls.

The glacier itself was only partially visible due to the low clouds. It is about 12Km long.

In the afternoon we walked around Lake Matheson which is supposed to have excellent reflective qualities due to the dark brown colour of the water (this is caused by all the organic matter from the forest floor washing into the lake.) On a good day you can see the reflections of the Southern Alps in the lake. Due to the low cloud we had to make do with the reflections of the surrounding forest.

We spent the night in the Westhaven Motel in Fox Glacier township.

The following day we set off for Fox Glacier. Like Franz Joseph, you approach it from the valley on the coast side.

The viewing platform is about 450m from the glacier. Overhead we saw several helicopters taking people for walks on the top of the glacier.

After our hike to the glacier, we set off south to Wanaka and had to stop along the way for a road crew clearing loose rocks from the cliffs on the roadside.