Franz Josef Glacier, the whole area reminds me of parts of the Yukon. When driving along, Mira noted that parts look like the Skagway pass, other Haines Pass, but there is the rain forest that makes it very Kiwi....
We arrived in Franz Josef with the intention of just passing through but it was so beautiful and the girls were so tired of the car, we decided to try our most ambitious hike yet. The kids had completed 2 - 4 hour hikes so we thought they were ready for an alpine ascent! We headed off to get above the glacier on the Robert Point Trek. It is supposed to take 5.5 hours to complete. We left at 10:30 am on our adventure. The tramp was much more challenging than we had anticipated but the girls were amazing. We climbed, scrambled, awed at the view, swayed on bridges and completed our mission. A couple of German tourists greeted us at the top and said they had 'much respect' for us for having made the trek with kids. (hmmm does that mean we are crazy or just....?). We crossed a rope bridge that had the weight restriction posted on the far side! yikes and only had a couple of tumbles... I rolled off the side of a hill when I lost my footing but didn't roll far. Kate climbed 'steps' that were at her hips. In the end, with snacks and a wee lunch the trek took us just under 7 hours. The kids slept really well and I did too.
First Bridge - that is Paul on it.
AT the top, the German tourists were carving their names into a picnic bench. Kate wanted to do the same but we only had a butter knife, so she had to scratch her name in the mossy, mould on the seat. Mira was laughing so hard, she had tears. Kate wrote her name about 6 inches high.
Happy Family at the top.Cheers, for now. sharon
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