Franz Josef

We woke up and got breakfast before hitting the road. Wānaka was a quick stop for us - the hike and overnight, but there was one more thing I wanted to do in Wānaka on our way out of town - see that Wānaka tree. This is a willow tree on the banks of Lake Wānaka. It grows in a most unusual place and looks like it sprung out of the lake water. It actually used to be a fence post. There was once a fence at the edge of the lake and this particular post was not quite dead so it put down roots and grew into the tree. The tree greatly outlasted the fence.  

In 2014 a photographer took an amazing photo of this tree and it exploded in popularity. We stopped by on our way out of town and it was well worth the stop. The tree is beautiful with the tall mountains in the background, a pristine and peaceful lake, and the fall leaves of the surrounding trees. It is hard to find a more picturesque scene. 

It seemed like we had plenty of time to make this stop, but when we returned to our car we found our ETA was longer than expected and we would be about 15 minutes behind schedule. Our next stop was four hours away in Franz Josef. We were scheduled on a glacier helicopter flight at 1:30. Our ETA was 1:15 so theoretically we would still be early,  but we were supposed to check in thirty minutes early. I drove as quickly as safety allowed. This was tricky as many roads were narrow and wound quite a bit. Also if I exceeded the speed limit by more than ~10 km per hour our car would gently remind me to, "please obey all traffic regulations." Our ETA bounced around quite a bit and did eventually drop (we knew it probably would because when we checked other map apps they did show a better ETA). About two hours into the drive we were back on track to arrive around 1 pm so we were able to relax a bit and enjoy the drive, which was good because the drive was through unbelievably beautiful country. I told Alison most of this drive reminded me of the prettiest parts of Glacier National Park. 

Amazingly the drive got even more beautiful the closer we got to Franz Josef. We entered Glacier Country where we were surrounded by towering peaks and we could see distant glaciers. 

We were happy we arrived thirty minutes early because as soon as we arrived they weighed us and had a safety briefing. Then they loaded us and another couple into a van to drive us to the airfield. This was at 1:15 pm. 

The airfield was more of a cow pasture with a tank of helicopter fuel. The helicopter landed and we loaded in. We were in the air at 1:25 pm.  The helicopter flight was incredible. We flew right next to the nearby peaks. Over glaciers and around rocky jagged points. Our pilot took us right into the thick of glacier country. 

Then we landed on a glacier. It was the pilot's choice for the glacier landing and our pilot chose the Tasman Glacier on Mount Elie de Beaumont. We got to tramp around on the snow, enjoy the view of the peaks around us, and snap a few pics. 

Then we loaded back into the helicopter and headed back. We were just in time as clouds began rolling in as we left. 

After our helicopter ride, we grabbed a quick lunch and checked in at the Aspen Court Motel. It was a great little place to stay in Franz Josef. It was clean and comfortable. They also had the most lax check-in ever. We told the name on our reservation and they said we were in room 18 and that it was unlocked and the key was on the table. No ID is required or anything. If you were ever an international fugitive this would be the place to stay. 

Around Franz Josef, there are loads of tracks, which is the New Zealand term for hiking trails. We spent the rest of our day exploring a few nearby tracks. 

We started out with a track to a viewpoint of the Franz Josef Glacier. It was a lovely track with a nice view of the glacier. Even though it was cloudier than earlier the clouds were high enough that we still had a good view. 

From there we took another track to Peter’s pool. This is a small pool that was created as the glacier receded and had an excellent reflection of the nearby mountains and glaciers. 

Then we drove to another track near the town of Fox Glacier (named for the nearby glacier). Here we decided to take the track around Lake Matheson. I kind of wanted to take the track to Fox Glacier, but we thought they started at the same location (they didn’t). Lake Matheson was a fine track. It would have been an exceptional track with the right weather conditions. On a clear and calm day, you can see some of the tallest mountains in New Zealand reflected in the lake. Today however the clouds obscured the mountain peaks and a light breeze picked up. Still, the lake was quite pleasant and the walk went through a lush green mossy forest. 

After our walk, we drove back up the winding road to Franz Josef. We found a nearby restaurant for a late dinner. We reflected on our trip as we ate. We love New Zealand and we would come back in a heartbeat. We were a little sad our trip would soon be coming to an end.