Franz Josef Glacier - Westland Tai Poutini National Park, West Coast, New Zealand
Posted by: 
denben
S 43° 25.392 E 170° 10.151
59G E 432747 N 5191852
The Franz Josef is a 12 km long glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.
Waymark Code: WMN9BQ
Location: South Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 01/24/2015
Views: 9
Franz Josef Glacier, or Franz as its known by the locals, is one of the most popular tourist stops on the West Coast with around 250,000 visitors a year.
Guided and unguided walks up to and onto the glacier are possible. However, since April 2012 all glacier walks require a helicopter flight past the unstable terminal face; glacier walks also require some specialised equipment, namely ice axes and crampons that latch onto a sturdy boot.
As the walking part of any tour up to the glacier takes a long time, and ends at the first icefall (a frozen waterfall, draping a natural step in the land underneath), numerous tourists book helicopter tours from one of the several local airlines, which usually drop their guests between the first and second icefalls, for a guided 1–2 hour walk through the broken ground atop the glacier. Although the glacial landscape changes almost daily, given the glaciers unusually fast flow, and some walks include passages through ice tunnels, they are still considered quite safe and only somewhat strenuous.
It took us about 2 hours to walk the Franz Josef Glacier trail (5.4 km return) which ends at the first icefall. The first 15 minutes is an easy (fully accessible) forest walk to a river bank view of the glacier. The track then follows track marker posts on the rocky riverbed, before climbing up to the viewpoint near the glacier. This track is over shingle and rocks so can be quite rough underfoot. The final section of track to the safety barriers includes a short climb to the viewing area.
The coordinates are from the Franz Josef Glacier Walk trailhead at the car park located at the end of Glacier Access Road in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.
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