"Glah-see-ehs"

Next destination on our free-wheeling travelventure? Glaciers, or "glah-see-ehs," as the Kiwi might say. We headed to Franz Josef and Fox, the fastest moving, largest glaciers in New Zealand.

Here we are in front of Franz Josef!



And again, a bit closer...

We awoke on the morning of our scheduled Fox Glacier walk to pouring rain. Unfortunately, that meant our plans were canceled.

But that didn't stop us from learning a cool story about how the glaciers were formed, according to Maori legend.

Tuawe, a Maori, went searching for a wife. He found a woman, Hine Hukatere. They were forbidden to be together because they were of different classes. They would meet in secret. One day, Tuawe was following Hine on the mountain paths. Poor Tuawe fell off the mountains (his lady was more adept than he) to his demise.

Fox Glacier - in Maori, Te Moeka o Tuawe - is where Tuawe died. Moeka means "resting place."

Devastated by the loss of her lover, Hine cried a flood of tears. They remain today: Franz Josef Glacier, or Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere.