We are planning a trip to NZ in May 2002 and would welcome some advice on the following areas, please: <BR>1) Which is the better glacier to visit (Fox or FJ) if we only have time to do one? <BR>2) Can anyone recommend a nice place to stay in either Fox or FJ - a motel/hotel? <BR>3) Anywhere nice to stay in Greymouth? - we are only there for one night and will arrive by car. <BR> <BR>We would appreciate any advice on the above as our guidebooks are quite silent on these points! <BR> <BR>Thanks.

Hi <BR> <BR>Franz is probably a bigger town, though they are both very small. Franz also has a lot more motels and general accomodation. I would recommend staying in a motel rather than one of the "big" hotels, where tour groups often end up. We stayed in a hotel that was about $NZ300 per night and it was a waste of money. Stayed in a motel another time and was same standard of room but much cheaper. <BR> <BR>Both glaciers are awe-inspiring and it is difficult to say which to go to! When I went to them both 4 years ago, you could walk up to the edge of both of them, which took about 1.5hrs to Franz and about 20 mins to Fox. When I went again last year, you could no longer walk to Franz without a guide as there had been huge rockfalls making it dangerous. I am not sure what the current situation is with Fox, but it was an exciting walk when I did it. They are only 20-30 mins apart by the way, so you will probably have time to do both. Also, you can see Franz from miles away (it looks much closer than it is) but you need to walk to see Fox. <BR> <BR>Hope that helps... <BR> <BR>sonia

Thanks, Sonia. That is really helpful! <BR> <BR>Jono & Sal.

Jono and Sal, <BR> <BR>I would agree that a motel in Franz Josef is a better bet than a hotel and there are several reasonable ones to choose from. We were there a couple of months ago and did a heli-hike up on to the Franz Glacier. Brilliant! And well worth the expense. A helicopter drops you off on the second icefall, a guide takes you down into crevasses then up on top of them and up to the third icefall where a helicopter picks you up and takes you back down to Franz again. The whole trip is 2 and a half hours and although quite hard work was not beyond our capabilities at ages 59 and 69. <BR> <BR>Dianna

hi jono & sal, <BR>we stayed at a motel in greymouth called seaside top 10 holiday park. we had a family type place with a kitchenette. there's a nice, stony (not sandy!) beach right behind it, great for after dinner strolls. a nice clean place for under nz$100. <BR>we ended up going to and staying at franz josef, mainly because we got to it first, driving from greymouth. we stayed at the alpine motel (? can't remember), which was right behind the one and only gas station in town. it was a nice room with a kitchenette as well as a vcr (where you can watch movies rented from the gas station!) and use of a hot tub (after that heli-hike on the glacier!). this room cost us nz$140. it's worth staying a couple of days there (or at fox) and i only say that because while we were there in january (high season summer) heli-hiking options were limited as many places were already booked (we got in on cancellations) and that the weather was always a factor in being able to fly onto the glacier. cannot say what it will be like in may, since that's going into winter, but the views would still be pretty spectacular and the hiking is very nice in the area. <BR>have a great time!

Thanks, Guys for all the advice - really helpful!