Our second Monday in Aotearoa was a reprieve from the long drives we had become accustomed to over the last four days. Even without a significant road trip ahead of us we still had an early morning to kickoff today’s main activity (a helicopter tour!).

Franz Josef is famous for its helicopter tours which provide access to the nearby glaciers, one of which is the town’s namesake. Walking up and down the main street you will see at least five helicopter tour operators. These glacier tours have a very high cancellation rate (~50%) due to the unpredictable weather on the peaks. Picking an early morning flight offers the best odds of success as the company will rebook you later in the day if the weather improves.

Fortunately we had some of the best weather that Franz Josef has seen in days so we had no issues with our 8:15 AM flight. Our flight began at a nearby airfield where we were greeted by a fleet of helicopters that took various tour groups around the glaciers. Stephanie was picked for the front row, much to her chagrin as the front seats allow you to look straight down!

Eddie, our seasoned pilot, took us on an aerial tour which started with the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and then moved across the continental divide before heading to our landing site on the Shackleton Glacier. Along the way we had exceptional views of Mount Cook, Mount Tasman and all of the other striking peaks of the Mount Cook National Park. After landing on the Shackleton Glacier we were able to walk around and take in the majesty of the icy wonderland we found ourselves on.

Following our return to the landing site back in town we made preparations for an actual kickoff. That’s right, the Super Bowl! Due to the time change this was our first time watching a Super Bowl on a Monday. One of the local bars was running a watch party which included a special menu featuring chicken wings and hotdogs (they also had their traditional menu items). We opted to skip the hotdogs but we couldn’t pass up the chance to try New Zealand’s take on wings. The wings were surprisingly good! New Zealand, unlike the United Kingdom, is not shy with spices and flavor in their food which has made for a wonderful eating experience.

Of course we could not be happier with the outcome for our hometown Seahawks! It was very fun to watch the game with a combination of fellow Americans and other international tourists (most of whom could not figured out what the big deal was with this game). More importantly the Seahawks are now 2-0 in Super Bowls where both of us are out of the country and 0-2 when we are home. Don’t worry though, we will be taking one for the team by ensuring that we are out of town for all upcoming Super Bowls!

What we found most interesting about the broadcast were unsurprisingly the commercials. The ads are very different for the international audience and given the fact that we saw the same car dealership commercial every break in the action, the airtime is not at a premium. We look forward to watching the best commercials from the US broadcast in the coming days.

We concluded our day with a nature hike to gain a different perspective of the Fox Glacier and work off the bar food. For dinner we sampled another local restaurant in Franz Josef. Tomorrow we make our way to Queenstown which will take us across the continental divide along another picturesque roadway.