Daniel Cann

I was snapped out of my reverie once we arrived at Greymouth and boarded the Kiwi Experience bus. There were approximately fifty of us (the biggest tour group so far), the average age was probably early twenties and surprisingly nearly everyone was British! So for me it felt like being on a school field trip again. Very strange! It was, suffice to say, a lively and rowdy journey to Mahinapua, a scenic reserve with a lake. We had a barbecue that evening that acted as an icebreaker (more about ice later) as we mingled. Some of the group I found to be a little reserved and conceited (what? English people having some of these traits? I hear you ask. Never!) On the whole I was relieved to discover they were friendly and eager to swap stories and share experiences. Steven was from my home county of Devon and his girlfriend, Suzanne, was from Wales. Both were easy going and good company. I went to bed that night wondering what the trip would be like, whether I liked it or not I was on it for the next fortnight.

I woke up very early and decided to go outside on my own for some fresh air and ‘alone time.’ I had realized that I had enjoyed very little personal space over the last few months and just needed a little time with my own thoughts to clear the air. While everyone else slept I walked. I was just in time to catch a fabulous sunrise over the mountains and as I walked on I encountered a field of red deer. Eventually I came to a long stretch of deserted beach. It was great to hear just the gentle lapping of the waves and feel a slight breeze. This was like no other beach I had been on before or since as in the distance I could see snow capped mountains!

Once the others woke up we were on the move again. My ‘alone time’ and the sights of that morning had lifted my mood again and I was eager to see whatever came our way next. At lunchtime we had a picnic and hiked at Rosstown, famous for its gold prospecting days in the nineteenth century. I enjoyed a chat with Rob from Vancouver, a manager of a logging company and on holiday with his wife. The Kiwi Experience must have been a bold choice for the pair of them as we must have all seemed like rowdy kids to the both of them who were in their forties. Rob knew a lot about conservation and the environment and conceded that there was a lot of compromise in his line of work. It was great to hear the opinions and views of someone who was not a fellow Brit for a change! We were travelling to Canada later in our trip and I was eager to glean anything about the place from people I met on the way.

I also met some girls from Surrey, Mary Ann who was flawlessly beautiful (intimidatingly beautiful as none of the lads on the trip made a play for her) she was very shy but friendly. Her friends were Claire who was a fun (and funny) outspoken extrovert and Lucy, a petite blonde with a lovely personality, she seemed to have a gift of being able to disarm anyone with her charm. So by late afternoon I felt that I was getting the measure of my travel companions and apart from a few arrogant alpha males they seemed like a good bunch.

Our group arrived at the Franz Josef Glacier at 4pm. Even from a distance it was an awe-inspiring sight! I booked a glacier climb for the following morning and spent the night chatting in nervous and excited anticipation with the others that had booked the same trip.

The glacier was named after Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria by German explorer Julius von Haast (another name that would crop up again later). That morning it looked impressive and inviting. My group consisted of our guide and Michael, Graham, Rob, Jo, Lucy, Mary Ann and Claire. After our safety briefing we put our boots on with attached crampons ready to tackle the ascent on the ice. Our guide brought with him an ice axe and once we had walked up the glacier for a few hours we all took turns posing for photos with the axe attempting to look like mountain men (and women). It was a very unusual sensation walking on ice and climbing the glacier, not something you do every day. The sky was clear and the glacier was a huge wave of blue and white ice. It really had a strange pull on you. The surrounding rugged scenery was impressive but the glacier had an ‘other-worldly’ feel to it.

After a careful descent we all grinned at each other broadly and excitedly jabbered about what we had all seen and done. The guide just smiled contentedly to himself, it was just another day for him, but he must have had job satisfaction judging by our reactions. We all had the feeling that we had really achieved something and I will not forget the day I climbed a glacier in a hurry!