The Franz Josef Glacier in Westland National Park (New Zealand)

Today, just after 8 a.m., we set off on a 3-hour journey from Punakaiki to the New Zealand Alps for a helicopter trip to the Franz Josef Glacier.

Day

of our Trip around the World

Table of contents

The journey from Punakaiki to Franz-Josef

Luckily, the weather was really good today, so we were already looking forward to the trip to the glacier. The road led along the rough coast and the partly snow-covered New Zealand Alps (route in Google Maps).

Drive through the New Zealand Alps

The Franz Josef Glacier in westland national park

The Franz Josef Glacier is a glacier in the New Zealand Alps on the South Island of New Zealand. It belongs to the 275 km2 Westland National Park and was first explored in 1865 by geologist Julius von Haast, who named the glacier after the then Austrian emperor. The Franz Josef Glacier is a temperature-controlled glacier, flows about half a metre per day and was once so large that it reached directly to the sea (the Tasman Sea). Even today, it is still one of the lowest glaciers of medium width above sea level (about 400 meters). You can drive from the village of Franz-Josef, about 5 kilometres away, to a parking lot and then hike to the nearest observation deck in about 20 minutes. Other viewpoints can also be reached on foot from the car park. If you want to experience the glacier up close, you can book a guided ice hike or a glacier climbing tour including a helicopter flight.

The cancellation of our Helihike due to too strong wind

Just in time we arrived at the small village of Franz-Josef at about 11 a.m. and immediately entered the office of the agency The Helicopter Line went to check us in for our tour at 12 o’clock. Unfortunately we got the information that due to strong winds no helicopters fly to the glacier today and therefore all tours have to be cancelled. There is no such thing!! Outside was finally really good weather – no rain, no clouds, blue skies. And yet we can’t go to the glacier… because of wind. We had absolutely not expected this 🙁

Since all other tours on the Franz Josef Glacier were already fully booked up to tomorrow, the agency tried to find a replacement solution for us. And indeed – the weather conditions at the nearby Fox Glacier looked better, so we were quickly rebooked on a helihike in the afternoon on the Fox Glacier.

Welcome to Franz-Josef

The agency "The Helicopter Line" in Google Maps

Our planned excursion program

The Franz Josef Glacier from below

Since we still had a bit of time until our tour, we drove briefly to the Franz Josef Glacier and took at least a few pictures of the parking lot in the valley.

The parking lot at the foot of the glacier

The Franz Josef Glacier

Alle Reiseberichte aus Neuseeland

11 Tage lang haben wir Neuseeland von Norden nach Süden mit dem Mietwagen auf eigene Faust erkundet. Angefangen hat unsere Reise auf der Nordinsel in der Stadt Auckland, wir haben die gewaltigen Kräfte unter der Erde in Wai-O-Tapu und Orakei Korako erlebt, wir haben die Hauptstadt Wellington erkundet, sind über die Neuseeländischen Alpen gefahren, haben eine Gletscherwanderung auf dem Fox Gletscher gemacht, bevor wir zum Abschluss eine Fahrt durch das UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe Milford Sound erlebt haben. Neuseeland ist ein wirklich schönes Land, dass uns unglaublich gut gefallen hat.