Why Franz Josef
Franz Josef is a small town on New Zealand's remote West Coast — population around 440 — surrounded by rainforest and accessible by a single winding highway. It is not particularly interesting as a town. What it has is a living glacier descending from the Southern Alps to almost sea level, and helicopter access to the ice surface. That combination makes it one of the most unusual experiences in the country.
The glacier itself has been retreating rapidly: it lost around 500 metres between 2018 and 2023 alone, and over 1.5 km between 2008 and 2017. Ground-level access to the ice face was permanently closed in 2012 after rockfalls made it unsafe — which is why the heli-hike now exists. The helicopter is not a luxury add-on; it is the only way to reach the glacier at all. The hike is the main event and is worth making the journey specifically for it.
The Glacier Heli-Hike
The helicopter lifts off from a small pad in town and immediately the landscape transforms. You fly up through a mountain valley flanked by enormous waterfalls on every side — the West Coast receives extraordinary rainfall and it shows. Within minutes you are above the treeline and the glacier appears below: a mass of blue-white ice carved into crevasses, ridges and towers by its constant movement.
The guide lands on the glacier and straps crampons to your boots before leading the group into the ice. You hike through jagged crevasses, between towering seracs, and along ridgelines looking out across the entire valley. The guide cuts the path with a pickaxe as you go — the glacier moves roughly 2 metres a day, which means the terrain changes constantly and no two hikes follow exactly the same route. The blue ice tunnels are the highlight: compressed ice that has had all its air squeezed out absorbs red light and scatters blue, creating an electric-blue glow unlike anything above ground.
This was one of the highlights of the entire New Zealand trip. There is something deeply strange about standing on a moving river of ice with rainforest visible in the valley below — the two shouldn't coexist in the same landscape, and yet here they do. Book as early in your trip as possible and build at least one buffer day into your itinerary for weather delays.
- Operator — Franz Josef Glacier Guides is the specialist operator; the only one with full glacier access
- Cost — NZD $899 per person. All equipment included: glacier boots, crampons, waterproof jacket and trousers, helmet, harness, poles, warm hat and gloves
- Duration — up to 4 hours total from check-in, with up to 2.5 hours spent on the ice. Helicopter flight is approximately 10 minutes each way
- Fitness — moderate. Walking on uneven ice with crampons for 2+ hours. No technical climbing. Weight limit 115 kg; minimum age 10 years
- Weather — flights are weather-dependent and can be cancelled on the day. Book the first available slot in your itinerary and rebook if needed. Morning slots have the best visibility on most days
The Rainforest Walks
If you have a spare afternoon — especially while waiting for a weather window on the heli-hike — the valley-floor walks around Franz Josef are worth doing. The West Coast receives so much rainfall that the vegetation is unusually lush even by New Zealand standards: dense tree ferns, kahikatea, and rimu draped in moss, all growing alongside a wide braided glacial river.
The Sentinel Rock Lookout (900m return, 20 minutes) gives the best wide view of the glacier valley and is manageable in any weather. Peters Pool is a short walk to a small kettle lake — a remnant from when a block of glacial ice was left behind during retreat centuries ago — that on calm days gives a perfect mountain reflection. For a longer challenge, the Roberts Point Track (12.3 km return, ~5.5 hours) through forest rewards you with sweeping views of the glacier from the opposite valley wall. The contrast between the ice above and the dense green rainforest below is what makes Franz Josef feel unlike anywhere else in the country.
Getting to Franz Josef
Franz Josef is on the West Coast of the South Island. The drive from Queenstown takes around 5–6 hours via the Haast Pass — about 350 km, but a route worth every kilometre. The road crosses the Crown Range (New Zealand's highest sealed road, cresting at 1,121 m), passes through Wanaka, then cuts through the Southern Alps via Haast Pass before following the wild West Coast north. Key stops include the Blue Pools near Haast (short walk to glacier-fed turquoise pools), Thunder Creek Falls (roadside, 5-minute walk), and Knight's Point Lookout where the Tasman Sea crashes against coastal cliffs. Allow a full day for the drive with stops.
There is no direct public transport from the main centres — the Kiwi Experience bus stops here, and some operators run transfers, but a rental car gives you the most flexibility on timing. The town has limited accommodation so book ahead, especially in summer.