Our Hotel near Franz Josef glacier was attached to an RV Park and our cottage was only accessible through the RV section. When we drove past all the RVs with men in their mid-50s sitting shirtless with their wives enjoying a glass of wine in a folding chair, I felt oddly at home… back with my people.
The hike to Fran Josef is about 2k. The first half winds through native forest and the second half traverses a path through the glacial river bed up to the face of the glacier… BUT WHAT! THE GLACIER WAS GONE.
Pictures from current 2020 Trip
Pictures Below from 2010
10 years ago, I remember standing at the terminal face of the glacier in awe of the size and massive Freezing River flowing from the mouth of the Glacier. Tour groups were climbing Today, I stood on a hill 1000M from the terminal face (which was no longer accessible) taking pictures of a dirty ice cube off in the distance. I suspect by the time Bryce visits this Glacier again, it wont be visible at all.
Our next stop was the Fox Glacier. In February 2019, a massive landslide pushed the Fox River to where the access road used to be which washed the road out to see. Engineers determined that rebuilding the road would be a waste because the landslide would continue to move the river. So, the only view point would be 2000M away. There was an old access and mountain biking road that gave a view which was the only available viewing point at this time. The NZ government is assessing other options. We were able to get close to where the land slide took place. Its pretty amazing to see the amount of Earth that moves like water when the conditions are right.
The journey to Abel Tasman is 6+ hours from the Glaciers so we planned a stop in Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks. The rocks were nice, but spending the night on the beach in a remote area of New Zealand was awesome.
