The west coast of New Zealand, locally referred to as the "wet coast," receives an average of 113 inches of rain per year. Compare that to the Pacific Northwest, which has the greatest rainfall in the United States, and averages less than 30 inches a year (http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/global_monitoring/precipitation/northwest_90prec.shtml).
When it rains, here, it rains moderately hard but almost continuously for days. For example, it has rained for at least 48 hours and looks to stay rainy for another 48. Maybe I won't climb onto the Fox Glacier, either.
Which gives it away that I didn't hike onto the Franz Joseph Glacier. It did not seem worth the cost when I wouldn't see the mountains or the sunlight through the ice. It is challenging to take pictures in a rainstorm, but I took a guided tour that went up to the glacier and shot the following sequence of photos. I have some video clips, as well, which captured the sound of the outflowing river. This river grew in ferocity as the rain continued.
The waterfalls off the surrounding hills were large when we walked in and positively huge when we walked out. We crossed streams that were not there 2 hours before and got soaking wet from the knees down. If the hostel had an oven, I could dry my boots out. As it is, I have lots of wet clothes to pack, since I had to run between the lodging building and the kitchen/lounge building and otherwise got caught in one of the larger downpours when I was grocery shopping without my rain pants. Smart.
The rain is warm, however, and it is very weird to go hiking near a glacier in a warm rain. The outflow from the glacier was shouting as we approached and positively roaring on our return. Large chunks of ice floated by until they met boulders, and the water popped and thumped as it flowed into hollows around these mini-dams.
There are over 3100 glaciers in New Zealand, larger than a hectare (almost 108,000 square feet) (http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Landscapes/GlaciersAndGlaciation/1/en). Only Mt. Ruapehu on the North Island has glaciers, numbering 18. All the rest are on the South Island.
The Franz Joseph Glacier is quite steep, requiring steps to be cut into the ice in order to climb the face. That's because the glacier is flowing over some large hills, which are too large to be "bulldozed" forward. The Fox Glacier is much less steep, and therefore easier to climb. (It's also supposed to be less crowded - there are over 50 people at a time climbing the Franz Joseph, more later in the summer.)
First glimpse.
Ice in the river.
We did not linger here for more than 30 minutes. The guide knew that the waterfall was creating a lake behind the wall of rock and mud from a previous glacial advancement. When the water got high enough, it would either flow over this wall or collapse it completely due to the weight of its volume. Not the place to be, as the rocks in the near foreground came off the face mid-background and on the right - from just such a water build-up. This guide hikes this area daily, so knows whereof he speaks.
Also, the very right edge of the glacier is due to collapse.
See the hikers on the glacier?
How about now?
Now?
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