Christchurch & Fox Glacier

After arriving on the ferry to the small town of Picton on the South Island, we got on the bus and headed to Christchurch. We followed the Kaikoura coastline and stopped to see some seals and some really nice views, similar to the great ocean road in Oz. We didn't really do much in Christchurch besides walk around the town for a couple of hours. It was settled back in the day by the Europeans to be a town centered around Christ, hence the name. It has a nice little river running through it. From there, we took off for Fox Glacier.

Fox Glacier was really amazing. I've never seen a glacier before much less hiked on one. After taking a helicopter ride up to the glacier on the side of the mountain, we put on our boots, attached the spikes and started hiking along the glacier. The glacier grows 3 meters (~1 foot) per day so it's always changing. We hiked through some ice caves and saw some waterfalls. Fox is the 3rd largest glacier in NZ and is one of over 3,000!