As part of the trip up the stunning west coast of New Zealand, one of the must-do activities is to see one of the fastest moving accessible glaciers in the world, and, even better, to climb through it
5 tips:
- Climbing – climbing through the glacier with the crampons on and the ice axe at the ready was what made this such a great experience, so be sure to give yourself the day to include this. The only issue is the price. A few years ago you were able to simply rock up to the glacier and climb through it (NZ$250), whereas unfortunately now you often need to take a helicopter further up the glacier and explore from there (NZ$795). On the plus side, you’ll get some amazing views of the glacier from the helicopter
- Climbing can get a bit hairy! – when climbing, be prepared for it to be a little scary at times. We thought it would just be a walk but, depending on your guide, you may be climbing up sheer slopes and starring down into the ice abyss below – you’ve been warned!
- Fans Joseph or Fox? – both are similar, but their nearby towns make it a choice between bigger with wider facilities but a bit busier (Frans Jospeh) and smaller with few facilities but quieter (Fox). When I visited, I went for Frans Jospeh and it was a great experience. It also has Glacier Hot Pools which would be great to enjoy after the climbing
- Hiking – if you don’t want to climb, one activity that you simple must do is a hike to get a feel for the scale of the glaciers. The Glacier Valley walk for Frans Jospeh is fantastic as its gives you a nice walk past the small lakes and view out across the glacier. 6km / 3.7miles return and will take around 1.5hours
- Two things we wish we’d done – we left thinking that we would have loved to have taken a scenic flight to see the glaciers from the sky (you can cover this now with the helicopter trip) and also kayaked in the more tranquil nearby Lake Mapourika, with the “Classic Trip” taking 3 hours in the early morning