February 1st marked the beginning of our road trip to Queenstown. Our stops for the day were the Fox Glacier and the Copland Hot Pools. We rolled into Fox Glacier at around 12:30, and picked the wrong parking lot to park at. So it took us about an hour to actually walk up to the glacier, and an hour to walk back. This is knowing full well we had at least a 4 hour walk ahead of us at the Copland Track. It was a beautifully huge chunk of ice, and if you looked carefully you could see the brave souls taking the climbing tours on that slippery rock.
We arrived at Copland Track around 2, and figured we could up there for 7. We packed up all our gear for the night (I brought all the electronics, didn’t trust them in the car) and we began the hike. The vegetation was the same as all the other hikes, and there were a few sketchy bridges to cross. Liam and Nick made it in 4:15, and me and Brendan were up in 4:30. All of our feet and backs were toast. We had originally planned to camp, but there was a nice huge hut to stay in for the night. 11 people in total stayed in there, and the place even had mats for us to sleep on. Beauty! To top it off, the hut warden wasn’t there, so we wouldn’t even have to pay!
After a nice soak in the hot pools the previous night, we awoke to rain. Lots and lots of rain. The Danish couple in the hut radioed someone to get the weather forecast, which called for it to clear up in the afternoon. This was a relief, because none of us really felt like staying another night up there, we just wanted to get the trip on the go. When the rain lightened up, I went and snapped some pictures of the hot pools and the mountain side. After a bite to eat, we were out of there. 4 and a half hours, and we were back down the mountain. My shoes were soaked, since we had been trekking through overflowing creeks and such. I also had a huge blister on my big toe, which was uncomfortable to say the least. We ate some eggs at the car, chugged some water, and we were on with our adventure!
Fox Glacier/Welcome Flat Hut
February 1st marked the beginning of our road trip to Queenstown. Our stops for the day were the Fox Glacier and the Copland Hot Pools. We rolled into Fox Glacier at around 12:30, and picked the wrong parking lot to park at. So it took us about an hour to actually walk up to the glacier, and an hour to walk back. This is knowing full well we had at least a 4 hour walk ahead of us at the Copland Track. It was a beautifully huge chunk of ice, and if you looked carefully you could see the brave souls taking the climbing tours on that slippery rock.
We arrived at Copland Track around 2, and figured we could up there for 7. We packed up all our gear for the night (I brought all the electronics, didn’t trust them in the car) and we began the hike. The vegetation was the same as all the other hikes, and there were a few sketchy bridges to cross. Liam and Nick made it in 4:15, and me and Brendan were up in 4:30. All of our feet and backs were toast. We had originally planned to camp, but there was a nice huge hut to stay in for the night. 11 people in total stayed in there, and the place even had mats for us to sleep on. Beauty! To top it off, the hut warden wasn’t there, so we wouldn’t even have to pay!
After a nice soak in the hot pools the previous night, we awoke to rain. Lots and lots of rain. The Danish couple in the hut radioed someone to get the weather forecast, which called for it to clear up in the afternoon. This was a relief, because none of us really felt like staying another night up there, we just wanted to get the trip on the go. When the rain lightened up, I went and snapped some pictures of the hot pools and the mountain side. After a bite to eat, we were out of there. 4 and a half hours, and we were back down the mountain. My shoes were soaked, since we had been trekking through overflowing creeks and such. I also had a huge blister on my big toe, which was uncomfortable to say the least. We ate some eggs at the car, chugged some water, and we were on with our adventure!