Franz or Fox - which one?

Old May 23rd, 2007, 09:38 PM
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Franz or Fox - which one?

I've read a lot of reports regarding walks on Fox Glacier. Any one tried Franz Josef? We're planning to do a half-day walk on one of the glaciers in September. Which one is better value in terms of time on the ice, vista, etc.? Sorry can't do the heli-hike, my family of 4 will definitely break the bank!
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Old May 24th, 2007, 12:17 AM
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Hi bellytoo,

We chose to stay in Franz Josef and did the half day walk. I have not done the Fox Glacier walk but I can say that I was extremely happy with Franz. After visiting Fox Glacier I was very pleased we opted to stay in Franz Josef. I could be wrong but I thought there were more restaurants etc in Franz Josef. That's just my humble opinion though
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Old May 24th, 2007, 12:51 AM
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Hi stormbird,
Would love to hear more about your walk. Did you go on the morning or afternoon one? How long were you on the ice? Does one have to wear waterproof gear out there? How hard was it to walk with crampons? Sorry for the number of questions, I've psyched the family up with glacier walking and I worry that I may asking too much from 2 city-fied kids and a couch potato husband. Ah well...
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Old May 24th, 2007, 05:39 AM
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Our family of four did the half-day afternoon walk at Franz Josef, but it has been about 5 years ago, so I don't know if things have changed. Here's how it went for us:
We were told to dress in layers as the weather can change while on the hike. We were given a raincoat and were "fitted" for hiking boots and crampons. (I say "fitted" because we had our own hiking boots which fit our feet better than the ones they gave us. I supposed they want you to use their boots because that way they can be sure that the crampons will fit the boots. The boots they gave us weren't terrible--they just weren't as good a fit as our own personal hiking boots.)
Once we were kitted out, we got on a bus and were driven to the glacier. To get to the face of the glacier, we had to hike about 1 kilometer over the moraine, which is like walking on well-worn rocks, generally about 4 -6 inches in diameter. This was the hardest part of the entire hike for me as I find it had to walk on rocks. Then we got to the face of the glacier. In order to get to the top of the glacier, we had to climb a rope ladder which was not particularly hard to do.
Once we got on top on the glacier, we put on on crampons. They gave instructions on how to do this and there were 3 guides available if you needed help. It was not hard to walk with the crampons and you were glad to have them because you felt secure walking on the ice. We then divided ourselves into 3 groups based on how fast we thought we could hike on the glacier--fast, medium, or slow. We put ourselves in the medium group as we are fairly good hikers, but their pace was a little faster than I would have liked. The guide had an ice axe to carve out steps along the way as needed, which was neat, and there was one spot where we walked over a crevasse in the ice on a wooden board. We walked on top of the ice and through crevasses in the ice until we reached a very picturesque spot where we could walk around a bit on our own and take photos. We then turned around and took a different route back to the rope ladder. I would guess that we spent about 75 - 90 minutes actually walking on the glacier itself. We removed our crampons, descended the ladder and walked back on the moraine. Fortunately, they directed us to a shortcut back to the bus so we had less time on the moraine.
We got a workout on this half-day hike (mostly because of the moraine hike, not the glacier hike) and our kids (aged 14 and 11 at the time) got pretty tired on the moraine walk, but it was an INCREDIBLE experience and we all still talk about it to this day.
I really think this is an experience not to be missed in New Zealand. There can't be that many places in the world where you can actually walk on a glacier! If you can persuade your family to go (and, perhaps deal with their tiredness at the end of hike), I don't think any of you will regret it.
P.S. Take your camera!
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Old May 24th, 2007, 06:40 AM
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Here we are on Fox Glacier with our 7- and 10-year olds:
http://homepage.mac.com/alfriedman/....26BC5911D9.jpg

We have done both 1/2-day hikes, and both are a little strenuous - but as you can see, a 7-yr old can do it just fine. You already have a description of the Franz Josef hike. The Fox hike is a little different, in that you start up the valley, then climb up onto the valley wall. After a longish traverse, you drop down onto the ice surface, some distance above the front. Other than that, the experience is similar, right up to so-so boots.

I'd agree that this is a very worthwhile experience, unless your kids are whiners. In our group, there were a couple of kids (and senior citizens) who just weren't up to doing anything strenuous. It seemed to me that the guide services were not at all selective, in terms of who could go. As a result, some people end up going who will end up being quite unhappy.
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Old May 24th, 2007, 06:11 PM
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We did the heli-hike on Fox (I know that this is out of the question for you). I seem to recall that Fodors guide says that either glacier is wonderful. As for the crampons, my wife and I had absolutely no problem getting used to these in very short order. There was, however, one woman in our group who was extrememly nervous and never really got the hang of it. We all in the group ended up helping her along at various points in the trip (while her husband ignored her and took pictures!!). Not at all strenuous. Even the couch potato will probably love it. As for clothes - we were there end of April (mid-late fall) and were plenty warm in a couple of light layers. On our day it was bright and sunny.

Now, having said all this, reading all the other posts here leads me to believe that we had it pretty easy compared to the half day hikes!

doug
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Old May 24th, 2007, 08:20 PM
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Thanks longhorn55, ALF and dktenor! Great descriptions of your glacier experiences - gave me just the right info I needed. Looks like we'll do just one walk, most likely at Franz (my knees creaked when I read about the uphill valley climb then dropping down on the ice at Fox plus my son thought climbing up a rope ladder is cool!). And oh, looks like it'll have to be the morning walk to have the rest of the day to recover! Thanks again, I enjoyed reading your tales.
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Old May 24th, 2007, 10:37 PM
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Hi bellytoo,
Don't know about the walks, but if you stay at Franz Josef go to Beeches cafe/restaurant for the best muffins ever! They are genuinely home made on the premises and are scrumptious! Coffee is pretty good too.
Have a great time in NZ
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Old May 25th, 2007, 04:52 AM
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Hi bellytoo,

Our experience last year was similar to longhorns however we had to put our crampons on before we started up onto the glacier. (We found their hiking boots to be more than comfortable and I suffer sore feet very easily and it wasn't a problem at all). Crampons are not difficult to walk in at all - you'll be glad you've got them on!!

We did the morning walk and about 4 guys from the tour company had gone on ahead to cut out our route and steps etc. Our first climb was up steep steps with a rope railing on the side. I found this a little scary to be honest but our guide was sensational and kept a close eye on us.

We all climbed together with the most fittest looking at the end of the line and the least to the front. Our guide was ever alert and would remind someone every so often that their laces needed tightening etc. It was comforting to know that he paid a lot of attention to these details. He was also very informative as well and we learnt a lot about the surrounding countryside and about glaciers.

I am 50 years old and not very fit but I did the walk/climb and was extremely glad I did - I don't believe we actually held anybody up along the way.

Weather - we were there in August I actually only wore jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and also had my parka tied around my waist. Beanie and gloves. We all got rather warm to be honest. Two of the ladies had full thermals on underneath and they just about melted. So be mindful that you will be working up a sweat. The lady who worked in the tour office actually sent me home to change as I had started off in ski pants - I was so glad she did.

Now Beeches restaurant, yum, yum, yum. We went there for dinner the first night and it was so good we returned again the second night.

We secured a beautiful rainforest studio at Punga Grove on Wotif at an absolutely fantastic rate - I was extremely happy with this accommodation and we could walk to the restaurants, hike company etc.

We had an absolutely delightful time in Franz Josef and would visit there again in a heartbeat. I hope you all have a memorable trip!
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Old May 25th, 2007, 05:35 AM
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Sounds like they have replaced the rope ladder with steep steps in the ice and a rope railing. I hope your son won't be too disappointed, but it should be an adventure going up to the glacier in any event.
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Old May 27th, 2007, 04:08 PM
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Thanks stormbird and annrad, you certainly talk my language! Just the thing that a 49-yr old mum who's in charge of feeding and clothing the family whilst on holiday wants to know! I really appreciate these info on details, and oh, we'll make sure to check out Beeches when we're there.
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Old May 27th, 2007, 05:16 PM
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Since we're talking food now, highly recommend The Blue Ice in Franz Josef.

Have a great trip.
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Old May 29th, 2007, 08:05 AM
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I have done both Fox and Franz and although I prefer Franz as a town, I thought the walk was better at Fox. The ice steps were steep and hard going at Franz(admittedly it was raining too, making it uncomfortable on the hands, as you have to pull yourselve up the large, deep steps) and coming down was a little scary. I also found the ice looked a lot less spectacular - less blue / clear and more dirty. Fox has the climbing part on normal ground and then you dropped onto flatter ice and it had fab caves and holes to explore - much prettier I thought.
However, as with most things this different to daily life, whatever you choose will be amazing - enjoy!
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Old May 29th, 2007, 01:16 PM
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Melnq8 is always spot on with restaurant reccos... We ate at the Blue Ice two nights in a row! Fun backpacker-ish pizza bar upstairs with game tables and a very nice, upscale (but not too dressy) restaurant on the main floor.

Thanks again Mel.
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Old May 29th, 2007, 01:26 PM
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What can I say, I like to eat...

Glad you enjoyed it Tim and Liz.
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