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Riding to Fox Glacier (almost)

After consulting the weather forecast the previous evening I contacted my tour agent to discuss route options. The weather forecast indicated snow in the western area of the south island.

So with a heavy heart Fox Glacier would be removed from the itinerary, and I’d be heading to Omarama via Christchurch.

Fox Glacier 1

Today would involve riding through freezing rain for over 400km, hopefully avoiding the snow.  I made an early start to avoid the worst of the traffic heading through Christchurch.

Whilst the scenery was amazing, this was possibly the least enjoyable day of my trip. My waterproofs were keeping most of the water out, but my boots and gloves were starting to feel like ice blocks.

By the time I reached Fairlie during the late afternoon the snow was starting to fall as I pushed on towards Mount Cook. My satnav had also died due to the freezing rain and snow, so I decided to head back to Fairlie and find a hotel for the night.

I was fortunate enough to find hotel with a room available, and gladly unpacked for the evening. The rooms included a kitchen, so the oven and hair dryer were extreme useful drying out my water logged riding gear whilst I visited the local pub for a well earned beer and dinner.

Hopefully the weather would ease the following day, fingers crossed!!