Franz Josef trail in New Zealand snakes across a rocky riverbed and is not for the timid. You’ll be rewarded with breathtaking vistas of glaciers. I’ll cover all the details of the Franz Josef Glacier walk in this article.
1. What makes Franz Josef Glacier unique?
Franz Josef is the steepest and swiftest flowing glacier in New Zealand. The glacier’s steep shape provides ideal conditions for ice movement. The Franz Josef Glacier has been seen to move up to 4 meters every day, which is an astounding fact.
2. Franz Josef Glacier Walk
The greatest method to view the glacier without paying for a tour is to go on the Franz Josef Glacier hike. The easy hike to the glacier is around 4 km (2.5 mi) roundtrip. Any itinerary for the South Island should include the path.
Depending on your pace and how long you spend admiring the glacier, the hike takes roughly 1.5 hours in total. The majority of the route was in excellent condition. The Franz Josef Valley hike does require you to cross two small streams, but you may keep dry by using stepping stones. It’s advisable to trek with others if you don’t feel confident doing this.
3. Is Franz Josef Glacier’s walk difficult?
The Franz Josef hike is rated as simple. Given how well-maintained the route is and how little to no elevation is gained, practically anyone, including families with children, can easily walk it. The entire trek is only 4 km (2.5 mi) and may be finished in an hour and a half.
4. Where Is the start of the track?
Only five minutes by automobile separate the Franz Josef Glacier Hike parking area from the town, where the walk begins. From the town, take Highway 6 south until you are over the substantial one-way bridge. At that point, turn left.
When you arrive, you can leave your vehicle in the spacious parking lot. There is no overnight parking allowed in this lot; it is just for use during the day. The parking lot is actually locked at around 10 o’clock.
You have a choice of taking a shuttle from town or driving to the parking lot. Glacier Shuttle Charter is the firm in charge of operating the shuttle. The shuttle has a round-trip price of $12.50.
5. Can I travel by foot from Franz Josef Town?
Yes. However, it will extend the hike’s duration by a few hours.
If you don’t have a means of transportation, hitchhiking is a fantastic alternative. In New Zealand, hitchhiking is seen as highly safe, and another group of tourists will probably pick you up!
6. How to get to the Franz Josef Glacier Lookout
The only bridge to cross to return to the Waiho valley floor is this one. To your right, there are three little waterfalls where you may fill up your water bottle with icy-cold mountain water.
Sadly, the Franz Josef Glacier is still hundreds of meters distant despite the final 300 meters of the trek being a short ascent to the observation position. Back in 2010, if the boys weren’t around, I could have reached out and touched the glacier face, but as of right now, the glacier has retreated by over 1000 meters into the Southern Alps.
It will be reduced to a tiny white ice speck that can only be seen via a pair of power 10-binoculars in ten years. The five-hour round-trip hike to Roberts Point, located 600 meters away and on the other side of the Waiho valley, offers the greatest view of the glacier.
7. Can you camp at Franz Josef Glacier?
Both the parking lot at the trailhead and the path itself are off-limits for camping. However, since Franz Josef town is so near to the Glacier Walk, you can just stay there.
8. Which season is ideal for visiting Franz Josef Glacier?
The summer months between November and February are the busiest travel times near the glacier. Due to the warm weather, everyone in the city is out and about.
Franz Josef, however, is open all year round due to the fact that they both lay close to the temperate zone. The best time to see the glaciers is in the winter, according to tour experts, when the weather is the clearest and most steady. During the winter, ice features like ice caves also persist for longer periods of time. During this time, it’s also likely to be less expensive to buy plane tickets and book lodging.
