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Flying Fox: Helihike

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Guanilo
Guanilo
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5 out of 5
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Flying Fox: Helihike

  • August 25, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Guanilo from Mclean, Virginia
Flying Fox: Helihike

Of all the hikes we did in New Zealand, this was one that we were most looking forwards to completing. Imagine: a helicopter ride up to a flat stretch of glacier, a four hour hike around the ice, followed by a return ride. And this is nothing like the calm, expanses of the glaciers in, say, Alaska. No, these are active glaciers, advancing down the side of the mountain into a tropical rain forest.

First, a warning. Helihikes at Fox Glacier are very weather dependent. We were unbelievably lucky to get to take the trip we scheduled some weeks in advance on schedule. A number of people at Hobnail Cafe (in the same building as where the hikes are booked) had been hanging around for days hoping for the opportunity. So, this is very much a catch-as-catch-can kind of thing.

The company provided cramp-ons and hiking staffs as well as a pretty introductory safety lecture. The basic recap is to watch where you step, please remember that the ice is moving and may be unstable and to listen to the guides.

We should also talk about the copter ride. I'm not a huge fan of flying (so take this with a grain of salt), but it seemed both to my wife and me like the pilot was trying to be daring or something, which almost had us revisiting our lunch in an unpleasant fashion.

Once on the ice, we strapped on our crampons and then started to hike along the ice. It was truly an amazing experience, with the temperatures warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and a cotton shirt. We explored the ice lakes, a few ice caves (some large enough for about seven of us to stand up in at the same time) and then returned to the landing zone for the return trip. The guides were both helpful and knowledgeable; even more important for us was their level of enthusiasm. We asked one why they were so excited, and he told us "Well, with all the rain we get here, we don't get to come up here all that often, either."

This was hardly a cheap trip; it was about $275 (US) per adult. But completely worth it - I'd do it again tomorrow.

www.foxguides.co.nz/helihike.asp

From journal 2005 Trip to New Zealand

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