The sound of thunder filled the air as English tourist Amanda Howett made her way towards Fox Glacier yesterday afternoon.
However, it was only after watching chunks of ice tumbling from the glacier, and witnessing the arrival of emergency services, she realised what was happening.
Mrs Hewett (40) was among 30 tourists in two parties setting out on a guided tour of the icy attraction when yesterday's ice-shelf collapse occurred.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times last night, she said both groups had pressed on after hearing the ice fall, unaware of what was taking place nearby, and only learned the true extent of the emergency as they made their way back down the glacier.
"We heard a noise which some people thought was thunder. Then we realised that there was ice falling off the end of the glacier.
"We continued with the whole of the guided tour and it was only when we were almost off the glacier, seeing a lot of helicopters, that we realised quite a lot of ice had fallen off," she said.
Asked to describe the noise of the ice, she said: "It sounded like thunder".
Her group of 15 people had been ahead of the second group when yesterday's events began to unfold, but both groups were brought safely off the glacier at the same time, before the guides returned to the scene to assist, she said.
It appeared the guides only learned people were trapped and in need of assistance quite late in the tour, she said.
"The guides were very good - they brought the two groups together to get us off the glacier once, I think, they had radio information of what was happening," she said.
Accommodation providers spoken to last night all knew of the day's events, with one saying Fox Glacier was in "a bit of an uproar" last night as news spread.
