Franz Josef Glacier is a 12km long glacier on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island and sits in the world heritage site of the Southern Alps. The small west coast town is the perfect place to plant yourself for a night or two if you want to experience a Franz Josef Glacier walk, see it from a distance or explore the glacier through a Franz Josef helihike.

About Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef glacier is a 12km long glacier sitting on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island among the Southern Alps. Sitting over 2,500 meters above sea level the Franz Josef glacier then descends rapidly into the narrow valley below. The glacier can be seen from the public roadside, however over the last 30 years the glacier has been receding rapidly, it was once so close to the highway you were able to exit your car and touch it from the roadside. Unfortunately these days the only way you can get close enough to touch the Franz Josef glacier is if you book a helicopter flight to hike the glacier. A helicopter flight doesn’t work for everyone obviously, due to the cost of such an excursion, and thanks to global warming I will be surprised if the glacier is still here in another 30 years.

Franz Josef Weather

The weather in Franz Josef can be rather temperamental, much like the rest of the west coast. The day we did our Franz Josef Glacier helihike was slightly overcast however the conditions were perfect, the next day a storm had set in and it didn’t stop raining for a week, so all other tours had been cancelled until weather conditions were safer.

Franz Josef Accommodation

I highly recommend spending at least two days in Franz Josef township, the Franz Josef helihikes don’t operate during bad weather conditions so you should give yourself a back up day incase the weather in Franz Josef turns.

There are plenty of accommodation options in Franz Josef; if you’re wanting something a bit luxurious you should checkout the Rainforest Retreat, which is where we would have stayed if we had a bit more money up our sleeves. But seeing as we were on a road trip through the west coast and needed money for other adventures, we stayed down the road in a self contained unit at 10 Cottages Accommodation. Which was fantastic and exactly what we needed; we had a kitchenette so were able to store and prepare small meals instead of having to spend every meal at the pub. But in saying that 10 Cottages was in the perfect location to walk to all the restaurants, souvenir shops and scenic tour operators in Franz Josef.

Getting to Franz Josef Glacier

The only way you can touch Franz Josef glacier is by taking a short helicopter ride, otherwise, if you want to get as close as possible without needing to pay a large sum of money you can enjoy a 1.7km walk to see the base of the glacier. This walk takes around 30 minutes so is great for families or those who are just flying through the area and need an opportunity to stretch their legs.
If you want to find out more about the walk to see the base of Franz Josef Glacier check the Department of Conservation website here, this will have up-to-date information on the track and whether has affected the path in any way. The track can be affected by floods, river surges, or rockfall so to avoid any disappointment check the site a day or two before you arrive!

Franz Josef Heli Hike Experience

I’m going to start by saying that a glacier hike isn’t for people who aren’t confident in their fitness abilities. The hike takes a lot of coordination and maneuvering between ice shelves and over large crevasses, and you have to be careful with how you plant your feet because of the cleats you will be wearing. But in saying all of this you aren’t climbing on your hands and knees across and over ice shelves, but if an emergency were to occur you do need to be able to be quick on your feet.

We booked a Franz Josef Helihike with The Helicopter Line, which sits on the main road travelingan through Franz Josef township. We managed to get a booking for the next day after much debate about whether we just do the flight around both Franz Josef and Fox Glacier or whether we spend the money and get to enjoy and incredible experience. Since we are the type of people that don’t like to miss out on incredible opportunities we booked for the full experience.

Before our flight we were fitted with waterproof snow pants and a jacket, large boots, a pair of cleats, and a harness, then we were split into groups of 5 and put in certain seats on the helicopter depending on our weight. I got to sit in the front which was super lucky because even though the helicopter ride isn’t the star of the show, I was still hoping to get some great pictures from the cockpit.

Our flight was only about 5-10 minutes long which took us the most direct route from the township to Franz Joseph glacier. We landed on a flat bit of rock and dirt that was close to the glacier and had to wait for the rest of the group to be ferried up before we started our glacier hike. We fitted our cleats and then clipped onto the first guide wire that took us up and over a large piece of ice, surprisingly the temperature on the glacier was incredibly warm, I wore thermals thinking I would be freezing my socks off but instead I was wanting to shed layers.

We spent around 45-minutes to an hour on the ice, walking between large shelves of ice, drinking glacier water from a small stream that was flowing its way down the southern alps, and I even got to lick a piece of ice…which had been my goal since we booked the hike.

The most incredible part of the hike was being walked out onto the section of the glacier which resembled a frozen flowing river, (yes I am aware this is what a glacier is but I can’t recall the precise name of this part of the glacier) this is where the above picture of me was taken which showed perfectly the angle which the glacier moves down the mountain.

Since the glacier is constantly moving the path which is taken for the Franz Josef helihike is constantly changing, and the holes in the ice for the guide wire ropes can still be seen in the moving ice shelves, which is both incredible but quite scary for how much and how fast the ice on the glacier moves.

My Franz Josef Glacier Walk Review

10/10 I would do the Franz Josef Glacier walk again.

Other Franz Josef Glacier Tours

The first thing you will see when arriving in Franz Joseph township will be the many tour operators that offer tours, hikes and helicopter rides to Franz Joseph glacier. However they also offer flights that include circling Mt Cook and Fox Glacier; which is great if you want to hit more than two birds with one stone. We booked through The Helicopter Line, check out their specials for the season and grab yourself a great deal to witness some incredible and breath taking views from across New Zealand’s South Island.

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The Franz Josef helihike was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, thanks to global warming. I can’t say I was too keen on spending the amount we did but I would do it all over again if I had to. If you’re travelling through the Franz Josef area and want to experience a piece of New Zealand history and walk on a piece of ice that has been slowly moving down the southern alps over thousands of years, I would highly recommend you take the opportunity to either walk to the base, take the helicopter ride or book yourself a hike. Not only do you get great views but the photo opportunities are awesome!