Slept in as long as I could to try and get rid of my cold. Woke up to blue skies, but still not feeling that great. I had intended to go for an all day glacier hike, but decided that probably wouldn't help my cold any good. So instead I booked a half day heli-hike. That way I get a ride up to the good bits then walk around for three hours and get a ride back. I also get a couple more helicopter rides! Spent the rest of the morning eating brunch and wandering around.
Checked in to the heli-hike place put on a pair of steel studded boots and was back in the helicopter. On yesterday's ride there was an older couple on the helicopter with me - today there are four other young hikers and the pilot gave us quite a ride following the contour of the land and swooping and diving. Got dropped off about half way up the glacier (a bit under the ice falls). The weather was mostly sunny with a few white clouds. It took three trips to ferry all the hikers up and in that half an hour the sky complete clouded over.
The glacier walk was incredible. The surreal landscape of ice, with dense rainforest greens to the sides and below, apparently bottomless crevasses and blue ice glowing from the intermitted sun - beautiful. Unfortunately there was one really slow person that held the entire group up (how come there is always one of them?) and the Disneyland-ness of the hike (it was circular and didn't go anywhere) were the only drawbacks. While waiting for the helicopter to come back and pick us up the cloud layer descended and it got cold - fast. It took two loads to get us all down and I had to wait for the second - had to keep moving around to stay warm. Three and a half hours after leaving I was back in Franz Josef.
Spent the afternoon / evening sleeping, on the internet, and eating. Also arranged to go sky diving.
