See New Zealand’s Glacier For Free!

If you’re in New Zealand, you cannot pass up on visiting the magnificence of the West Coast glaciers. I talked in detail about how glaciers are formed and our experiencing hiking on ice at Fox Glacier here.

Long story short, where we were lie a great crack – the Alpine Fault. Along this crack, 2 plates of the Earth’s crust collide and slip past one another, pushing up the Southern Alps 10-20mm every year. The height of the Southern Alps thus make it perfect for glacier formation. At the terminal face, meltwater from the glacier is carried downstream by floodwaters.

Instead of flying up on a helicopter, in this post, you’ll find the cheaper alternative to witnessing the glorious glaciers – by foot!

To see New Zealand’s glaciers up close for free, you can hike up to the terminal face of the glacier. It’s a self-guided, fuss-free and affordable way to be as close to the glacier as you can without having to pay for a guide. Of course, for a small fee, you can also have a guided tour at Franz Josef.

UPDATE: Fox Glacier no longer runs Terminal Face walks as the path got washed out by bad weather. 🙁 

Don’t expect to be ON the glacier though. The hike takes you to the very base of the glacier, where ice turns to water at this level.

It is here that the Fox River emerges from the ice and where ice collapses are often heard and seen. This is the final resting place of the ice that has travelled 12 kilometres from the base of the Southern Alps, all the way down to the river valley floor.

If you want to experience being on the glacier ice, check out my experience on Fox Glacier hiking on ice.

We got to stand up close with waterfalls that reach all the way up to the sky. You won’t miss this giant waterfall in its splendour – a sight we never expected to see! Girl in red at the bottom of the picture to show the waterfall’s relative size. :O

Read: New Zealand Sunset Photos

Directions:

To get there, follow the sign near the bridge that connects Fox Glacier town with Franz Josef town. The road will lead you all the way in, and the trail from there is established and safe.

Read: Driving In New Zealand The First Time?

Duration:

It’s a short walk. You can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour one-way along a rocky terrain (remember the ice that falls down the glacier break off large boulders and grind at smaller rocks). You sometimes get to skip over rocks to cross a shallow stream!

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Read the rest of my posts on New Zealand:

• New Zealand North Island Experiences To Check Off Your Bucketlist
• 5 Unmissable Things to Do in Rotorua, New Zealand (If You’re Tight on Time!)
• Mud Attack at Hell’s Gate Geothermal Park & Mud Spa, Rotorua, New Zealand
• What Exactly Happens When You’re Skydiving at 15,000 Ft in Taupo, New Zealand?

 

• New Zealand South Island Attractions You Must See On Your Road Trip
• 23 Things To Do in Queenstown, New Zealand, in Summer
• Running My First Overseas Marathon – The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon
• My First REAL Horse Riding in Glenorchy, New Zealand
• Tips for Catching New Zealand’s Southern Lights
• Fox Glacier, New Zealand; What’s It Like Hiking On Ice?

 

• Detailed Breakdown of My New Zealand Budget Trip – $2600 for 20 days!
• Living in New Zealand – Update 1 (Unfiltered)
• Living in New Zealand – What Does It Mean To Me?
• 6 Months in New Zealand, 4 Months in Fox Glacier – Thoughts & Revelations
• The Hidden Treasures New Zealand has to Offer

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18 May 2016, Wednesday