We walked to the Franz Josef Township and the Glacier Guides office, as we had signed up for a Glacier Adventure which would last the entire day.

We were fitted out with boots, socks, ice talonz and a Goretex raincoat. We set off in a big red bus, then walked to the terminal face of the glacier, a twenty minute walk during which I already got thoroughly annoyed with my boots. It was turning out to be a bright hot day, so we peeled off some layers and put some sunscreen on.

The front of the glacier, like most, is an unsightly mess of dirt, rocks, half-melted ice and more rocks. But we were going on top of it, where we would hopefully see blue eyes, caves and lots of spectacular sights. First, though, we had to scramble up steep rocks to the side of the glacier, which I didn't like at all. In fact, when we got to the top, I was ready to call the whole thing off and turn back. What stopped me was that I then had to go down the same rocks again... best delay it a bit longer, I thought.

Nicky, one of the guides, explained we would go in four groups according to skill, fitness and confidence. As I was feeling extra clumsy, breathless and terrified, I decided to stick to the more 'laid back' group. Keiron, luckily, didn't mind staying with me.

I put on my Ice Talonz (sort of like crampons but less spiky) and Keiron strapped me in extra tightly. We started walking up the steps, cut out by the guides in the ice. I was right behind Kate, our guide, and had to stand back as she cut out the steps some more, as of course they melted during the day. I wasn't doing too badly at that point.

We picked up an ice axe and learned to use it for balance. After we'd had a snack, we had to scramble over some rocks and I started to get really scared to fall, as the steps got harder, next to deep crevices, and I was starting to get tired.

At one point, we had to run through a crevice as the ice was moving (as it always does) and rocks and rubble were falling from the top! We hardly had any stops, even to drink, and when someone asked to stop for a photo, Kate would say OK then march on regardless, which I thought was a bit inconsiderate.

At one point, one of the straps on my Ice talonz snapped. Though Kate fixed it, it didn't help my confidence in their equipment... The German in front of me was wielding his axe like a madman, stopping for photos when everyone just started moving again, then leaving his axe behind etc.

When we got to the lunch stop point, I was so worked up I was crying. I could barely eat and just sat there, being scared. When we set off again, twenty minutes later, Keiron went first so I could follow his steps. He pointed out dangerous points and where to step, doing a much better job than Kate, who was miles ahead and didn't seem to care about the rest of us, only got annoyed when we got behind.

I slipped a few times and nearly cried with (irrational, I know) fear. When we left the axes and followed the carved path, I felt better, briefly, although some of the steps had melted so much by now, there were lots of crevices in the ice. My last ordeal was getting back down the rocks. Luckily, Keiron kept an eye on me.

Finally, after six hours, we reached the glacial river valley, and I wanted to have a good cry and kiss the ground, pope style. But we had a few kilometres still to walk, back to the carpark, where the bus came after five minutes to take us back.

Back in town, we made a sharp exit and headed for a drink, for sugar in my case (Coke) and alcohol in Keiron's (beer). At the campsite we had a shower and rewarded ourselves with a nice pizza from the Blue Ice Cafe.

As with most things, when it's over, it doesn't all seem so bad. I'm still glad I did it, but for some reason the irrational fear got hold of me. I don't think I'll be going on another glacier soon though...