glk11b

With a limited time (10 days) in the South Island we are now wondering if we should skip Fox and/or Franz Josef completely. It looks like an all day journey from Christchurch to the glacier (albeit interesting on the Transalpine) and a very long day to Queenstown. We've been to Alaska and flew to glaciers already. Your thoughts and comments would be most appreciated. Jerry

Melnq8

Since you're pressed for time and have already had a glacier experience, I doubt you'd miss much by skipping Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.

Personally, we've visited the area several times and have enjoyed hiking in the area (not just on the glaciers), but we've also had more time to work with.

ishki

The thing I remember most about our trip to Franz Josef wasn't the glacier itself as much as the wonderful scenery along the west coast, across the Haast Pass and down into Wanaka. If you are going to Milford Sound you will see similar mountain scenery. If you have more than one day to do the drive from Greymouth that would be my suggestion, but to do it in one day would be very long and tiring.

mjs

I agree with ishiki. The reason to do the transalpine/west coast trek to Queenstown is for the beautiful scenery along the drive provided you get decent weather.

margo_oz

Apart from the glaciers themselves, which I found fascinating - the road to Queenstown has just the most spectacular scenery - in my opinion, some of the best NZ has to offer.

glk11b

Thanks for the comments. Is the route through Franz Josef the ONLY way to Q'land or THE MOST SCENIC route? Alternatives?
Yes, we do plan to go to Milford Sound.
Jerry

Melnq8

Not clear on where you'd be coming from - Christchurch? You can reach Queenstown via SH1 from CH (then turning west at some point), but I wouldn't recommed it - it's not a very pretty drive IMO. You'd do much better to take SH6 along the West Coast, which will take you right through Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.

You can easily break up your trip by staying overnight somewhere along the way - maybe Greymouth, Hokitika, or at the glaciers.

glk11b

Melnq8,
We will arrive in Christchurch late evening and stay there a day or two. I understand that it is a very long drive (8 hours someone on this Forum said)from Franz Josef to Queenstown. Any suggestions on how to break up that journey? Is it possible to take the Trans Alpine to the Glaciers and rent a car theree? Thanks, Jerry

Melnq8

The TranzApline goes as far as Greymouth. If meomory serves, it takes about 1/2 a day to reach Greymouth on the train. You can rent a car in Greymouth and drive along the West Coast from there. I'd suggest you go as far as Franz Josef (111 miles from Greymouth) or to Fox Glacier which is a bit farther, then stop for the night there. From the glaciers you can reach Queenstown in about six hours. We've driven from the glaciers to Queenstown several times, and while it's a full day, it's never taken us 8 hours, even with stops. It's 250 miles from Franz Josef to Queeenstown.

If you leave early in the day, you'll even have time to stop for a walk to Monro Beach, near Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge, where you can sometimes see penguins (I've yet to see any there, but haven't given up yet).

Alternatively, if you chose to drive from CH to Greymouth, the drive is about 254 miles via Arthur's Pass.

Here's a nifty driving distance calculator that you might find helpful.

http://discovernz.co.nz/driving/smlcalc.html