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Begin the experience at the guiding base where you trade your shoes for sturdy leather boots and get kitted out with ice-walking gear. Your guide then takes you to the helipad where you board a helicopter for your flight up the valley sides and onto the glacier itself.
The Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are two of the fastest moving in the world, sometimes at a rate of up to 20 m a year. This means that the terrain is ever-changing as crevasses close and new ones open so your guide leads you on an unplanned route which is a true adventure. Ice tunnels glow a deep blue color and steps up the ice have to be hewn with a pickaxe. However, the two and a half hour walk is not overly demanding and suitable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our New Zealand specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
Flight over Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers
This is a 30-minute scenic flight that will take you high above the spectacular scenery of both Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, with views across to Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
Heli-Hike on Franz Josef Glacier
Join your crew at The Helicopter Line Officer, Main South Road to commence a heli-hike tour. A scenic 10-minute helicopter flight takes you over Franz Josef Glacier to its icefall, where the helicopter lands and you start a two-hour guided walk among its ice caves, pinnacles and seracs.
You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you.
