Day 3 Tuesday - Glacier and rainforest

With jetlag behind us we were fully energised for some tramping - the NZ term for hiking. The first walk of the day was to view the Franz Joseph glacier and we were lucky as the summit appeared out of the clouds as we reached the viewing point. It's very majestic but it was sad to learn how much it's receeded in recent years due to global warming. It also has a slightly brown tinge as a result of the recent Australian bush fires.

The next walk took us on the Robert's Point track which is classed as advanced level. It starts as a pretty easy stroll through the rainforest but ten minutes in we found out why you need to be fit as it's all uphill, necessitates climbing over rocks, traversing streams and crossing swinging suspension bridges, one being 111 meters long across the valley - don't look down!

Being the second walk of the day we stopped at the half way mark Hende's Hut so we could get the 5 pm shuttle back to town but it was an amazing experience as well as an extreme workout in the heat.

On our way back to the carpark we took the track to Peter's Pool which gives reflective views of the glacier mountains.

On arrival back we were greeted by a young lady who works here giving us freshly baked scones - the perfect accompaniment to our well earned cuppa.

After rest and food we managed to raise ourselves to join a night-time glow worm hunt - tiny larvae that glow through bioluminescence.  We went on a short walk from our accommodation and they were in a hedge glowing like tiny fairy lights. Final step count today over 29K...