After the chopper banks away and the thwump-thwump-thwump of the rotors has receded down the glacier I'm left standing in a beautiful white silence. With half a dozen others and a guide I've got the next couple of hours to explore the upper reaches of Franz Josef glacier, one of a pair of blinding rivers of ice that cascade almost to sea level ont he weatern side of the South Island's Southern Alps...

The guide checks everyone has put on thei crampons correctly and, stout stick in hand, we set off slowly working our way through a labyrinth of seracs (ice towers) and crevasses. It is a bit of a shock to the system and initially nerve-wracking as I gaze down into the blue depths of the glacier with teetering blocks of ice looming above.

...deep blue and gently sculpted, they're wonderfully enticing and the guide leads us through.

All too soon we hear the beat of the helicopter coming to whisk us back to town. Still, that means a steaming cup of hot chocolate is only fifteen minutes away - much needed after these dazzling few hours on the ice