We have breakfast in the room with a view of Mount Cook and the other mountains covered in a fresh layer of snow from all that rain we had. This view & experience was one of the reasons that really attracted Maria to going to NZ but being really ill was not how she had visualised it.
This morning we are booked on the Glacier Explores trip on to the glacier lakes and up close with the icebergs. We get on the coach and already Maria is breathing heavily just sitting there, this is not good. We take the bus along a gravel track to the base of the terminal moraine that holds in the glacial lake. From there it is a pretty easy mile walk, well it's for most of us but it was real difficult for Maria. I could only carry her coat and sympathise as she coughed her way along the track.
The boats are specially made to be strong enough to get nice and close to the icebergs. We saw the different stages of the ice and them rolling over trying to maintain stability. The lake only came into existence in 1975 and since then has grown to an incredible size as the glacier recedes. As you progress up the lake the lateral morrains (rubbish dumps to the sides of the glacier) grow really huge, showing how big the glacier once was. We head up towards the glacier it's self which looks like a great dirty lump of muck. This is because the ice on top is melting leaving behind just the rock that the ice contains.
All too soon, it is back to the jetty and the walk starts again. Maria is really struggling on the way back but we get there eventually, but Maria is not looking too well. Returning back to The Hermitage,, Maria takes to her bed to try and get some sleep - can't say I blame her.
I decided to do a bit of walking. First I head up to the hooker valley and I walked up past the climbers memorial and the first swing bridge taking the odd snap along the way,
Then I popped down to the Tasmen valley and took a few more snaps.
Maria didn't seem much better when I returned, lets hope a nights sleep helps..
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