New Zealand Walk: Franz Josef - a must do
Amust see on most kiwis bucket lists is to view the Franz Josef Glacier in the West Coast. Just 5km from the township of Franz Josef is the car park where walks start to the viewing platform of this world famous glacier.
In 2019 the Franz Josef Glacier area was the third-most-visited tourist spot in New Zealand.
The track to the viewing platform is wide and carefully graded. It is known as the Forest Walk and starts at the car park about fifty meters from the public toilet.
When you reach the Forest Walk viewpoint there are the informative interpretation boards on glaciology and the history of the area. At this point you can also catch your first glimpse of the Franz Josef Glacier and begin to understand the enormity of the glacier itself.
Here, the blue ice looks like polished marble and you can begin to see the crevasses where the dynamic flow of ice has literally been ripped apart. The precipitous rock walls that flank the glacier are over one kilometre high and create an optical illusion that the terminal face is not very high.
At the holiday season many walkers are quite happy to go as far as the viewing platform and view the glacier, but for the more adventurous, there is a route to be as close as 700m to the glacier.
Starting from the viewing platform, follow the markers in the riverbed past Trident Falls to a point close to the terminal face of the glacier. This is not a track but a route over the shingle and rock of the riverbed and it can be quite rough underfoot. Here you will need suitable footwear.
The last section of track to the safety barriers includes a short climb to the viewing area. Do not go past the barriers and pay attention to all signage as areas of the valley are hazardous and are not safe for visitors.
This is a beautiful yet volatile place – do not let the serene scene fool you. The glacier is constantly moving. Ice and rocks fall from the terminal face without warning. Creeks may rise up
to a metre in even moderate rain. Water levels rise in as little as 15 minutes.
The fact that this point is less than
300 metres above sea level and is one of three glaciers in the world this close to the coastline is remarkable on a world scale.