Fox Glacier
Mar 13th, 2007 | 06:19 PM
#2
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,283
Likes: 0
Carolyne,
There are half day and full day tours of the glacier, where you're walking and enjoying the fact that you're actually ON a glacier; then there's a heli-hike, which gives you amazing views and higher altitude / views!
For me, personally...I admit it, I'm a Heli-Fanatic. If I could own my own helicopter and fly it I would! I was bitten by the bug in Kauai many years ago and have never gotton over it.
So, basically, I'm not exactly impartial!
Since that first trip I've been in helicopters on Mt. Cook, Fraser Island, over the Great Barrier Reef (3 times), and Maui. To me, it's ALWAYS worth it, but you'll have to decide for yourself. If you've never been IN a helicopter before I can only tell you that it's a "once in a lifetime" experience (even though I've experienced it alot more than once)!
Hope this is helpful!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie & Kiwi Specialist
There are half day and full day tours of the glacier, where you're walking and enjoying the fact that you're actually ON a glacier; then there's a heli-hike, which gives you amazing views and higher altitude / views!
For me, personally...I admit it, I'm a Heli-Fanatic. If I could own my own helicopter and fly it I would! I was bitten by the bug in Kauai many years ago and have never gotton over it.
So, basically, I'm not exactly impartial!
Since that first trip I've been in helicopters on Mt. Cook, Fraser Island, over the Great Barrier Reef (3 times), and Maui. To me, it's ALWAYS worth it, but you'll have to decide for yourself. If you've never been IN a helicopter before I can only tell you that it's a "once in a lifetime" experience (even though I've experienced it alot more than once)! Hope this is helpful!
Regards,
Melodie
Certified Aussie & Kiwi Specialist
Apr 18th, 2007 | 11:51 AM
#3
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
DO THE HELI-HIKE. It's fantastic! We did the heli-hike with Fox Guides last summer and it was definitely the most fantastic thing we did during our 2 weeks on the South Island.
http://www.foxguides.co.nz/
Yes, it's expensive, but it's so worth it, in my opinion. The helicopter ride is short, but it's breathtaking!
Here's what the heli-hike entails:
First, you check in at the office right on the main drag there in town. Then they bus you down the road about a mile to the helicopter landing pad. They give you a little safety talk and demonstration and get you fitted with boots and warm woolen socks if you don't already have adequate hiking boots with you.
Then you go up in the helicopter. It's about a 6 minute ride and it's awesome! They land you right on the glacier and out you go. Then you get strapped in to your crampons so you can walk on the ice. They split our group into two small groups and we went off with our own guide. We crawled through ice tunnels, climbed down into caves and just had an amazing experience. We actually got lucky, b/c the tour group coming up after us was delayed, so we got about an extra hour up on the glacier before the helicopter came back to get us.
I can't say enough about how great it was!! Don't even think about it one more second, just do it!
One word of caution -- we allowed ourselves a little cushion with our stay in Fox to allow for bad weather. Apparently the helihikes get postponed with foul weather... so if you have a very tight itinerary sometimes you lose out! We had no problems, but were glad we had that extra cushion of time so we'd be guaranteed to get up there.
Also - we stayed in a great motor lodge about 50 yards from the tour company office (Fox is a very tiny town!) It's called the Westhaven Motor Lodge and it was very inexpensive, but very modern, clean and quiet! We loved it.
http://www.thewesthaven.co.nz/
http://www.foxguides.co.nz/
Yes, it's expensive, but it's so worth it, in my opinion. The helicopter ride is short, but it's breathtaking!
Here's what the heli-hike entails:
First, you check in at the office right on the main drag there in town. Then they bus you down the road about a mile to the helicopter landing pad. They give you a little safety talk and demonstration and get you fitted with boots and warm woolen socks if you don't already have adequate hiking boots with you.
Then you go up in the helicopter. It's about a 6 minute ride and it's awesome! They land you right on the glacier and out you go. Then you get strapped in to your crampons so you can walk on the ice. They split our group into two small groups and we went off with our own guide. We crawled through ice tunnels, climbed down into caves and just had an amazing experience. We actually got lucky, b/c the tour group coming up after us was delayed, so we got about an extra hour up on the glacier before the helicopter came back to get us.
I can't say enough about how great it was!! Don't even think about it one more second, just do it!
One word of caution -- we allowed ourselves a little cushion with our stay in Fox to allow for bad weather. Apparently the helihikes get postponed with foul weather... so if you have a very tight itinerary sometimes you lose out! We had no problems, but were glad we had that extra cushion of time so we'd be guaranteed to get up there.
Also - we stayed in a great motor lodge about 50 yards from the tour company office (Fox is a very tiny town!) It's called the Westhaven Motor Lodge and it was very inexpensive, but very modern, clean and quiet! We loved it.
http://www.thewesthaven.co.nz/
Apr 18th, 2007 | 09:08 PM
#4
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
I was in Fox a couple of weeks ago and we did a helicopter flight and landing on the top of the glacier. We got out and walked around for a few minutes, but didn't do the actual hike. It was fantastic. We originally wanted to do the landing on Mount Cook, but the peak was in cloud so we settled for flying up Fox Glacier and flying down Franz Josef. We stayed in Fox at the Sunset Motel which I can recommend. As it is situated a couple of kilometres out of Fox on the Lake Matheson Road, it has stunning views of the mountains and if you are lucky the clouds will clear Mount Cook. If you drive past the Lake Matheson turnoff a little way and look back, you will see the most amazing view of the glacier you can imagine.
Apr 30th, 2007 | 01:21 PM
#5
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Just came back and did the half day Heli-hike on Fox Glacier with the foxguides company. csreilly pretty much summed it up.
Wonderful. Wife says the highlight of the trip. (I'm close to agreeing, but then there were many highlights.)
They told us that only 1/3 of the heli-hikes happen because of bad weather. The morning was definitely preferable because both days we were there it clouded up by the afternoon. Lastly, they allowed us to make backup reservations for the day(non heli)hike in case the heli-hike was cancelled due to weather.
Wonderful. Wife says the highlight of the trip. (I'm close to agreeing, but then there were many highlights.)
They told us that only 1/3 of the heli-hikes happen because of bad weather. The morning was definitely preferable because both days we were there it clouded up by the afternoon. Lastly, they allowed us to make backup reservations for the day(non heli)hike in case the heli-hike was cancelled due to weather.
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