Day 9: Rest Day

Get up about 10 am after getting to bed about 1:30 am. Spent last night with the two Mikes having a drink or two. After breakfast I did some more drawing and then headed off to walk the Roberts Track from Franz Josef.

The Roberts Track starts from the Glacier Road and then turns left across a large wooden suspension footbridge that spans the icy cold bubbling glacier river. The walk is a very exciting and beautiful one but quite demanding and in places quite slippery. I fell over twice but didn't hurt myself. The walk took me about 4½ hours up and down and on the way I saw only a few people. There are footbridges, cliff walks, paths that follow the fast streams and boulder-hopping routes that take you far up - it's a great track. Finally the path takes you to a look-out spot from where you look over the Franz Josef Glacier in all its glory. Blue sky and strange low misty clouds hang around and from up there is an incredible white and blue light from the Glacier. Make it home very tired but very happy!!

Back to top