Trekking to the Foot of the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand
For $350 you can fly over the Franz Josef glacier and land for a bit of ice hiking. For $225 you can clamber up the sheer face of the glacier behind a guide who carves steps in the ice with a pickaxe. For obscene amounts of money you can skydive over the glacier, kayak down the icy rapids spawned by the glacier, or go rock climbing on the walls of the glacier-carved valleys. Or for free, you can pick your way through a virtually deserted, boulder-strewn stream bed to the foot of the glacier and come face-to-face with this immense, dirty snowball.
Strap on your spikes and bring along the ice pick on a chilling hike through the Franz Josef Glacier. With native Kiwis as your guides, trek up this icy conquest with the help of ropes and friends/locals nearby. Leave behind your fear of the unknown as you experience one of the natural wonders of the world! You get the chance to dip your eco-friendly thermos to taste the freezing glacial water at its source and take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding rainforests lining the edges of this otherworldly creation. Not for the faint of heart, this expedition is a few mile climb over treacherous ravines and slippery ice, but in the end the experience makes it worthwhile.
Deep inside the warm, lush green rainforest of Westland National Park, Kamahi tree ferns and moss-covered branches span a rugged trail as it emerges vulnerably onto the open valley floor. Giant boulders are scattered like marbles around a raging torrent of icy meltwater, bisecting the valley like an angry parent dividing squabbling children. Further up the valley lies the retreating aggressor, bright white and bathed in sunshine. Visitors equipped with crampons and ice axes scramble the grubby, icy debris of its tired looking face each day, whilst others carve out a perilous passage high on its back amongst gaping crevasses and brilliant blue ice sculptures.
For $350 you can fly over the Franz Josef glacier and land for a bit of ice hiking. For $225 you can clamber up the sheer face of the glacier behind a guide who carves steps in the ice with a pickaxe. For obscene amounts of money you can skydive over the glacier, kayak down the icy rapids spawned by the glacier, or go rock climbing on the walls of the glacier-carved valleys. Or for free, you can pick your way through a virtually deserted, boulder-strewn stream bed to the foot of the glacier and come face-to-face with this immense, dirty snowball.
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