I’ve never been more excited to share photos with you all.

Many people told me that Franz Josef was the highlight of New Zealand, and I sort of believed them. But since everything here is so stunning — mountains, rivers, lakes, beaches, rock formations, the night sky — I took their words with a grain of salt.

Well, now I am here to report that Franz Josef glacier is indeed the highlight of New Zealand.

We sign up for a “heli-hike,” which is what it sounds like — a helicopter ride to the glacier, followed by hiking around the glacier.

It’s my first ever helicopter ride and at the start of the day I’m more excited about that than the glacier.

There’s video at the bottom of this post to share the experience more fully.

The helicopter ride is only about 4 minutes long but it’s packed with generous sights. We glide past multiple mountain waterfalls, most notably this one below.

Our first glimpse of the glacier:

The ice changes color as the sky shifts overhead — clouds move in and out at rapid speed and the glacier shifts from deep blue to a blinding white within moments.

Here’s a better view of that same waterfall we passed by in the helicopter earlier. Note the waxing gibbous moon in the sky (I still remember the lunar phases from 9th grade Earth Science class… I am a geek).

First things first: we put on crampons to walk over the ice. Their grip is tremendous — I don’t fall once all day.

It’s fairly cold but not bitter. Our guide even wears shorts.

We spend the first hour or two climbing up the glacier at a, well, glacial pace. Plenty of time to stop for photos and walk slowly to avoid slipping on the ice.

It’s like a playscape for adults. There are giant ice caves, snowy tunnels, and hidden crevasses around every corner.

Here is one of many “ice stairs” we’ll climb today.

Okay, I’ll stop for now so as not to overload this post with photos. Check back tomorrow for more!

In the meantime, here is a video I put together of my heli-hike experience.

Enjoy!