Chilling on the West Coast
West Coast Winter is 100 per cent Pure Magic on, and around, the West Coast’s glaciers.
It’s a truism that each of the seasons on the wild West Coast have their own characteristics and moods. Differences can be seen in this vast untamed natural wilderness as each year progresses, some subtle and others more obvious.
But what’s indisputable is that it’s in the winter months that Mother Nature unleashes her real magic. Add to that what is usually the most stable weather of the year, together with fewer people than in the other seasons, and it all equates to a compelling reason to visit the Coast with the Most this winter.
Glacier Country is a great place to stay and play over the winter months. Compact and centred on two of the most accessible rivers of ice on the planet, a multi-day stay in the southern extremity of the West Coast certainly has everything to recommend it. Being based at the glaciers offers travellers a chance to peel back the layers, at leisure, during a visit to the West Coast.
At the heart of Glacier Country are the two vast ice structures that plunge from high in the Southern Alps, having carved their way through solid rock and ancient rainforest over millennia. In a bygone era, they almost reached the Tasman Sea, the Big Ditch as some affectionately call the wild body of water that separates us from Australia.
Franz Josef glacier, Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere, is known as the majestic giant. At 10.5 kilometres long, it is the steepest of any of the 3100 glaciers in New Zealand, all but, a handful of which are inaccessible, being at high altitude or located in rugged terrain. The surface of Franz Josef contains many crevasses and ice caves and there is a good chance of encountering rare blue ice in this location. Just 25 minutes’ drive to the south is Fox glacier, named after Sir William, the second Premier of New Zealand, who ruled the then British colony on four occasions in the mid- 1800s.
Known to early Māori as Te Moeka O Tuawe, Fox is the longer of the two glaciers, at 12 kilometres. Being not as steep as its neighbour, Fox glacier provides a less strenuous walk atop the thick layer of ice that descends deep into the rock valley below.
Whether it is for a walk or more adventurous mountain climb, Franz Josef and Fox glaciers offer helicopter access. The bird’s eye view over these relics of the ice age, and beyond into the hinterland from which Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman ascend, is unlike anything seen anywhere in New Zealand. As descriptive as they may be, even stupendous, awe-inspiring and breath-taking do not adequately capture the reality of what will be one of the most memorable experiences anyone will ever have.
