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Franz Josef

New Zealand Travellers

Abel Tasman

Auckland

Cape Reinga

Christchurch

Dunedin

Franz Josef

Greymouth

Kaikoura

Lake Tekapo

Milford Sound

Mount Maunganui

Napier

Nelson

Paihia

Queenstown

Rotorua

Taupo

Wellington

Franz Josef is a small town of about 300 people and is named after its glacier. The town has lots of character, no doubt caused by the towering snow-capped peaks which surround it. The main purpose of the town is to allow travellers easy access to the glacier. A popular alternative to Franz Josef is Fox Glacier, a nearby town with its own glacier.

 

Things to do


We went on a full day glacier trip. It was a very tiring day but well worth it. Our guide would climb ahead of us and cut out some stairs (I use the term loosely) in the ice. We would then follow, sometimes using ropes to help our ascent. We saw ice caves, towering ice walls and the view from the glacier was amazing. During the hike we heard what sounded like thunder but it was the glacier advancing or retreating (it really wasn’t thunder because it was a clear sunny day). We were told that the glacier is retreating about a metre a day at the bottom and advancing 5 metres a day at the top. At lunch time we stopped climbing, sat on the ice and had lunch while taking in the views. Our guide brought up a small gas cooker and prepared an egg and bacon sandwich. After this we started to make our way down the glacier. By this time the sun was causing the ice to melt and we saw lots of tiny streams starting to build up. We passed an ice pool and people were given the chance to jump in. A few did. We arrived back at the town in the late afternoon, very tired, with a few cuts and scrapes but very satisfied.
We definitely recommend doing this.

We also went kayaking found it very relaxing. The lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and forests which cast reflections on the mirror lake. We had never kayaked before but the guide told us everything we needed to know and was close by the whole time. We kayaked across the lake into a narrow section with forest on either side and then kayaked back again. We were on the water for a couple of hours, timing the kayak back perfectly to see the orange sunset over the mountains.

 

Accommodation

We stayed at Franz Josef YHA. This was one of the better YHAs we stayed at. It was quite clean and had a very large kitchen, it was almost like three kitchens combined into one. The hostel has a small sauna which is just the thing you need after spending a day on a glacier. They also have an open (gas) fireplace in the lounge, which makes the room very cosy at evenings. Our room was quite small and basic but it was clean. Overall the hostel looks very nice and is well looked after.