Franz Josef Glacier

West Coast New Zealand. Might as well be called Wet Coast.

In November, Elliott’s parents came to visit from the States. We thought we had timed it right - get springtime weather, without the crowds. Instead, we endured unseasonably wet weather for the two weeks they visited. That being said, it turns out that our wet West Coast road trip was nothing extraordinary. The West Coast here can attract up to 10,000 millimeters of rain per annum. That’s ten meters of rain per year.

We had hit the road from Queenstown and headed up through Haast Pass toward Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. We passed Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea in some gloomy weather, still appreciating the views. My plan was to hike up toward Fox Glacier, but when we arrived the rain was pouring down and showed no sign of stopping. So we continued onward toward Franz Josef Glacier, where we had no choice but to get out of the car and hike it anyway. The trail follows the riverbed up to a viewpoint of the ever-changing glacier. There was so much rain and wind that we could do nothing but giggle our way to the viewpoint, trying to ignore the waterfalls pouring from our limbs.

As you can see, there weren’t a lot of safe opportunities to pull out my camera on this walk, but the memories will stick with us forever.

Hike: Franz Josef Glacier Walk
Distance: 5.4 km / 3.4 miles return
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes