Fox or Franz Joseph Glacier
 

Can stop at either or but probably cannot do both. I would like to drive from Nelson past Punakaiki to stay over nite at a Glacier Village. Next day walk to a glacier and then drive to Queenstown by nitefall.
Any good suggestions on reasonable Motel / Camp unit is welcome. Roscoe

My family (2 adults, 2 children ages 13 and 11) recently stayed at Franz Josef and I highly recommend it. I cannot compare it to Fox Glacier since we didn't go there, but I don't think you'll be disappointed with Franz Josef. We stayed at the Punga Grove Hotel, which was nice - clean, comfortable, etc. My husband and sons hiked the glacier the next day. Be sure to book in advance. I didn't go because they had only 3 spots available. There are 4 or 5 nice restaurants in town. We had a delicious, slightly more formal dinner one night at Beeches and an excellent, more casual dinner one night at Alice May. Overall, once the fog cleared (it rains a lot - it's a rain forest), the views were magnificent.

Fox Glacier has 3 possible advantages over Franz Josef: (1) the glow worm caves are nearby, (2) Lake Matheson is much closer if you want a beautiful walk, and (3) it is about 45 minutes closer to Queenstown.

One word of advice: fill up your car before you leave Fox Glacier - there are hardly any gas stations until you reach about Wanaka, about 4-5 hours away.

If you get a chance, stop at the Bushman's Cafe in Pukekura and try (or at least see) the possum pies or have a drink at "Puke Pub" (pronounced "pukie").

Enjoy. It's beautiful country.

They were pushing possum pate when I was there last June. We also ate at Alice May which had a delicious dinner. We only hiked to the glacier due to lack of time and the use of buses.

You don't have to do both. But they are different in their approaches to the glacier.

We did the Fox Glacier group walk and it was great. Do you intend to walk <i>on</i> the glacier with a group, or just 'walk to a glacier'?

We stayed at the Lake Matheson Motel at Fox, which was adequate. ((C))

Thankyou for current replies.... I am not an organized hiker prefering to do it myself at my pace with people I wish to be with. Intention is to go to the glacier ..... look and leave as there are so many places to visit in such a short time. Fox sounds like the better option with the Lake M thrown in. How hard is it to just walk there and back without having to be guided ? Will look up the Puke Pub and Inn as I am a Chef and any sort of &quot;roadkill&quot; reinvigourated sounds interesting. Will check the Punga Grove. Ta Roscoe

If you want to walk to the terminal face of a glacier, I recommend Franz Joseph.

We walked along the river bed in well marked pathways last October and it was one of the highlights of our holiday.

We watched the organised tours climb onto the glacier, but we are not as active as that.

The size of the glacier up close, looming up in front of you, is mind blowing.

The walk was not too hazardous, the views were wonderful and we stopped heaps to look at waterfalls etc.

And, it is all free.

We spent 3 hours just marvelling at the whole thing.

Wear decent shoes, there is some rock scrambling. But we are inactive 50 year olds and it was just a wonderful morning.

The river bed is wide and the glacier is in front of you the whole time, getting closer and closer.

Very picturesque, lots of photo opportunities ( I will send you some if you want) and, as I said, all free.

Jenny

Roscoe -

We've been to NZ several times and have visited both glaciers, staying at both Franz and Fox. They're both interesting in their own ways. Fox is a smaller village than Franz, although Franz isn't all that big.

The advantage to staying in Franz Josef is the proximity to Okarito Lagoon, which offers alot of nice walks.

The advantage to staying in Fox is Lake Matheson, which you can walk around in about 60-90 minutes.

Both villages have nice hikes, but if you're just interested in a quick stop to see a glacier, any glacier, it probably doesn't matter which one.

When we last visited in April 2005 the walk to the Fox Glacier terminal face was more strenuous and rocky than the walk to Franz Josef. The path to Franz Josef had undergone improvements and was an easier, more level walk.

A guided hike is not necessary unless you want to hike ON the glacier.

There's a great hike from Fox Glacier you might consider. Take Glacier View Road to the Chalet Lookout Walk. The walk takes about 90 minutes return and was our favorite walk of our three week trip. It's a steady uphill climb, rocky in spots with a few stream crossings, one of which is a bit tricky.

We were rewarded with a great view from the lookout.

If you don't have much time, directly across the parking lot from the Chalet Lookout trailhead is a five minute walk to a glacier overlook that offers an entirely different view of the glacier. It’s a steep uphill climb back to the carpark, but it's mercifully short.

As far as where to stay, we've stayed at Punga Grove Motel and Bella Vista Motel in Franz Josef and Lake Matheson Motel in Fox. I'd stay at any of them again, but I'd request a larger room at Bella Vista.

Have a great trip!