Walk to Fox Glacier Viewpoint

Franz Josef Glacier or Fox? We only wanted to do a hike to one of them but which one?

Apparently Franz Josef Glacier has retreated very quickly in the past few years. After speaking to a lot of different people, we decided that the Fox Glacier was the one we wanted to visit, but that entailed a short and beautiful 20 km drive from where we are staying.

We crossed the fast-flowing (from yesterday’s rains) Fox River, and parked in a car park next to it.
One of the trails to the glacier was closed due to landslides. The trail that we chose to go on was being repaired as a major landslide had damaged a section of it. It was still open though with a slight detour on another more rugged and otherworldly-looking trail called the Moraine Walk. We had planned on not taking that track, as it added another 40 minutes to our walk, but we were happy that we did. It was beautiful.

Moraines are the debris of rocks and stones left when a glacier retreats. We walked over old moraine surfaces and through a dramatic forest quickly plants and lush forest. The walk begins on a surface several thousand years old and crosses the AD1600 and AD1750 moraines. So magical.

Eventually, the Moraine Walk returns to the gravel road that is being repaired. We walked on this road to the Fox Glacier Viewpoint which gave us a nice view of the glacier from a distance.

We were lucky as we had a clear view of the glacier when we arrived. A short time later, the clouds rolled in and hid the mountains and glacier. Helicopter rides are cancelled when there is cloud cover.

Note - When we returned to the hostel, we heard that the trail to the Franz Josef glacier was closed due to unsafe conditions (loose rocks and landslides).Read more