From Sky to Sea

This morning we were greeted with bright blue skies and not a cloud in sight. What a welcome change. It was even warm out. We had been tired from the long day before, so we slept in a little and joined our innkeeper for breakfast around 8 a.m. We launched into conversation with him and really enjoyed the back and forth - and ended up sitting, eating and chatting for about two hours. It was a no-hurry kind of morning. Between bites, we were ooohing and ahhhing at the view from the kitchen window of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman looming over us.

So, what to do with a blue sky day? With the mountain peaks completely visible? With warm sun beating down on us? Take a helicopter ride up the glacier, around the mountains and go play on a snowfield at 10,000 feet. Of course!

We had been debating this for the last few months. But had decided not to book ahead, for fear of cloudy conditions. So here we were facing an unbeatable day after almost a week of rain. And we decided to treat ourselves. The nice thing about it all, is that after our last-minute decision, innkeeper Dave just had to make a call to the company, and he had us booked to go at 11, only 45 mins from the time of the decision. And, the launch pad was about a stone's throw from our back deck. Like two giddy school children we raced to get ready and we walked two minutes down the road to meet up with our helicopter.

The experience was incredible. Once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment. We were in a Bell Helicopter - the small kind with big windows. And the two of us sat up front with the pilot, so we had full windows in front and beside us. In the backseat, a father and his young daughter joined us for the tour. Within minutes we were in the air and heading up the mountainside toward the Fox Glacier and the tallest mountains in New Zealand.

There is no way that I'll ever be able to relay this in written words. Bright blue skies, crisp white snow, mammoth glaciers and mountains - and the aqua blue Tasman Sea in the distance. It may be the smallest I've ever felt. We glided up the face of the glacier and flew right up next to the jagged, snowy Mt. Cook. We hovered right between the massive peaks and took exhilarating rollercoaster approaches over corniced ridges and rocky edges. When we were up there, it felt like the helicopter was just a tiny toy and we were on a magical movie set. Awe-inspiring. Every minute of it.

Then, we got to drop for a landing on a snowfield on top of the glacier. The glacier itself is 13 km and the snowfield at the top that feeds it has a diameter of 30 km. When you're up there, it's difficult to get a sense of scale, until you look way down below at the glacier and see tiny specks that are people trekking through the ice.

We climbed out of the helicopter into this fantastical winter world. It was a place that did not seem to belong to humans, but it was fun to stop and stay a little while, take in deep breaths of the fresh air, throw a few snowballs and just stand in awe of the natural world. I didn't want to leave when the pilot called us back to the helicopter.

And 30 mins later, we were roaring back down the face of the glacier, then back over the jungle, and rivers and down to the launch site.  And 45 mins later we were back in our hotel room, wondering how we could top that. The answer is, it's not possible. We are both glad we decided to take this adventure and the colors, the views and the overpowering feeling of nature will never leave me.

That adventure made us hungry and we headed into town for a quick lunch (at one of the four restaurants in Fox - we'll likely hit each one before we depart this place on Tuesday). And then what do you do after flying around a 12,000 foot peak in the morning? You spend the afternoon on a beautiful New Zealand beach of course. The complete opposite.

We drove down to Gillespe's Beach (about a 20 minute drive down a long windy, gravel road through the jungle) and emerged in the sunshine on a beautiful tropical beach. It was immense. Covered with beautiful stones - green, metallic, snowy white, smooth and perfectly round. I wanted to take them all home with me (Dave: Why is your bag so heavy, do you have rocks in it? Nicole: Why, yes. Yes I do.).

We spent a few hours relaxing on the beach. Listening to the surf through the stones, reading and climbing around the really interesting old driftwood. We plan to return tomorrow night for some sunset pictures.

After the beach, we headed back to our hotel. I decided to go for a 5-mile run - and for the first time on our vacation, it felt like summer had arrived. Phew, was that a hot run. I ran along a country road, with sheep, cows, and spectacular mountains as a backdrop. But the sun down here is hot, and I was exhausted by the end of the workout.

I got back in time to shower, change and join Dave and the other guests for wine, cheese and dinner here at the inn. We opted to have our innkeeper cook for us tonight and had a lovely time. Two other guests arrived while we were drinking wine and chatting. So two couples from the UK, the two of us, and innkeeper Dave ate, and drank and ate and drank and talked and laughed up a storm from 7 p.m. until midnight. It was a wonderful meal (I had blue cod fillets and Dave had beef fillet. And for dessert, a trio of ice creams. I'll never forget the plum and creme fraiche flavored one. Yum.).

Now we're off to bed. Dave is starting tomorrow at 5 a.m. for some sunrise photos and I plan to sleep until he gets back. Then off to hike up and up for some awesome views of Fox Glacier - and then hopefully back to the beach to end the day with an amazing sunset. Fingers crossed that summer sticks around.