Kiwis don’t appreciate our melting gem
We have a national treasure that’s virtually disappearing before our eyes. It’s the Pink and White Terraces of our time and I’m ashamed to say, like many Kiwis, it was never on my radar. What makes it even worse: Franz Josef Glacier, as well as Fox Glacier, is one of the easiest to reach anywhere on Earth. Most of the world’s glaciers are found in distant parts of Greenland and Antarctica, but we have two less than an hour’s walk away. It’s so easy, kids can even tag along.
How to describe Franz Josef Glacier if you’ve never seen it? It’s a little like a giant 12-kilometrelong frozen waterfall, hanging off the side of the Southern Alps. Sadly though, it’s anything but frozen – it is instead an alarming barometer on the state of global warming.
The glacier has been around since the last Ice Age, and although it goes through periods of growth and retreat – the overall trend is bleak, with some scientists predicting it won’t be seen from ground level within 100 years.
So, are Kiwis flocking to see a piece of history that’s about to disappear?
When we visited, at the end of the walking track, overlooking the glacier, we found 16 others enjoying the view and the last glimmer of late afternoon sun. I didn’t hear any New Zealand accents, so started asking everybody where they were from: Singapore, Brazil, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the United States. We were the only Kiwis.
I likewise asked each person we passed on the return journey and didn’t find one New Zealander.
Tourism is booming at the glaciers, but it appears to be fuelled by international visitors.
The closest official statistics, conducted over a peak Christmas period, suggest 76 per cent of those who walked to the glacier were from overseas. So just a quarter domestic tourists – and the survey found the number of locals decreased even more outside the peak period.
The statistics suggest Cantabrians are doing a good job of seeing the glaciers, but that’s not the case for those of us further north.
We owe it to future generations to visit this national treasure because history is quite literally melting away, and someday soon we’ll be talking about these great glaciers – that you could just walk right up to – in the past tense. Walking to the Franz Josef glacier viewpoint is an easy one hour, 30-minute return trip. The walk is a reminder of the sheer force of nature – boulders the size of houses are strewn about the valley. The area also has more rainfall than the Amazon Rainforest, so you’ll see waterfalls that stretch hundreds of metres into the clouds above.
The main access road and viewpoint to Fox Glacier has been closed in recent months after flood damage, but the one-hour return walk has just reopened, and there are longer walks offering even better views. right in the township.
The ultra-luxury Te Waonui Forest Retreat is also a superb choice if you’re after a romantic escape. See: scenichotelgroup.co.nz.
10/10 – this has to be on all Kiwis’ bucket lists.
The author was supported by Tourism West Coast and Scenic Hotels.