After staying the night in the small town of Franz Josef, we set off on a half-day hike on Franz Josef Glacier. It is 12 kilometres long as it descends down the valley, and, unlike most glaciers which are receding slowly at around 5 centimetres a day, it is moving forwards down the valley at 2 metres a day!
We walked for about 30 minutes up the valley to get to the front, the terminal face, of it, and then put our crampons onto out walking boots. Then we climbed up the front, and explored the crevaces and caves on top. It was a great walk and the views were amazing!
Also visible slightly further down the valley is a fault line showing the boundary between the Pacific tectonic plate and the Australian plate.
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