Franz Josef

About

Franz Josef Glacier, named by German explorer Julius von Haast in honour of the Austrian Emperor, is the most popular glacier in New Zealand. While being steeper than its neighbour, Fox Glacier, the steeper drop creates more dramatic scenery and ice formations. Although you can no longer climb the ice directly from the valley floor, if you’re feeling up for the challenge you can take a heli hike from the township for an unforgettable experience (allow 4 hours for this). Alternatively a 90 minute round trip from the car park will take you to the foot of the glacier for some amazing photo opportunities. From the township itself you can opt for a guided walk through the lush rainforest (which until recently touched the glacier itself, one of only three places in the world to do so), again to the glacier foot, which will take you around 3 hours.