We had a long drive ahead from Wanaka to Glacier Country on the west coast of New Zealand’s south island. We were staying at a quaint little place called Wanaka Lodge. We got up while it was still dark to have an early morning breakfast and chatted to the lodge owner who was cooking up some egg and bacon. I loved the communal dining room with it’s heavy wooden table and leather couches. it felt like I was in some sort of mountain side log cabin.
By the time we finished breakfast and packed up our car, the sun was up. We decided to check out Lake Wanaka before we started out drive. Lake Wanaka is where the infamous Wanaka Tree is located! More on that in a future blog post as we will be back at Wanaka for another night after our time in Glacier Country. I loved the misty morning and the cloud cover over the mountain tops.
Glacier Country is made up to Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier. The towns are located very close to each other. These two glaciers are some of the most convenient glaciers to visit in the world. The drive from Wanaka to Fox Glacier took us around 4 to 5 hours as we made a few stops along the way. The roads to Glacier Country are fairly whiny so you’re not going at top speeds.
Our first stop along our drive was at the iconic Blue Pools. You’ll reach it around 1 hour out of Wanaka. It’s an easy walk 1.5km return walk through a native forest and over a swing bridge. At the end of the walk you get to see a pristine blue pool that is part of the Makarora River.
Our next major stop was the Fox Glacier terminal face walk. You can easily walk to the terminal face of the glacier on foot. It took us around 2 to 2.5 hours. There were people of all ages doing the walk with us. While the walk is not too difficult, good walking or hiking shoes are critical. It was mostly a gravel path which can make the path quite slippery if you’re not careful.
Once you get to the end of the walk, you get to see the azure blue Fox glacier in the distance in glacier valley. Once upon a time, the glacier was much closer. However over the years the glacier has slowly receded.
After our hike, we headed to the neighbouring town, Franz Josef, where we would stay two nights and experience the highlight of our trip. Heli-hike tour of Franz Josef Glacier! Like Fox, Franz Josef is a small town with a strip of shops and a range of accommodation for tourists. We settled in for an early dinner that night to make sure we were up and ready for a 4 hour heli-hike tour the next morning.
Have you been to New Zealand before? What was your favourite part of your trip? Thanks for stopping by today.
Your friend, Janice
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