Experience the best of Franz Josef & Fox Glacier

The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers descend from the Southern Alps through steep valleys into lowland rainforest on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, ending only a few hundred metres above sea level. The two small townships, about twenty-five kilometres apart, sit in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, part of a UNESCO World Heritage area. Julius von Haast named Franz Josef in 1865 after the Austrian emperor.

Guided walks lead onto or beside the ice, and helicopter flights land on the upper glacier. Lake Matheson, near Fox Glacier, mirrors Aoraki Mount Cook and Mount Tasman on still mornings. The Okarito lagoon, to the north, shelters white herons, and Gillespies Beach is strewn with driftwood and fringed by forest.

Whitebait fritters, a West Coast speciality made from tiny river fish in a light egg batter, are the local snack, along with venison, lamb and hearty pub food after a day's walking. The coast has some of the highest rainfall in New Zealand, which feeds the glaciers and the lush forest, and clear days between the showers give the mountain views.