“South Island roads are different. Allow more time.”
We exited the splendid TranzAlpine train from Christchurch at Greymouth and now boarded an InterCity bus to see the Franz Josef Glacier. We chose to leave the driving to someone else and purchased InterCity bus passes online. Bus passes are sold by hour packages, for example a 15-hour pass could take you on a 7 hour trip, the 7 hour return, and give you an hour left over. With a simple bus pass code, we scheduled our travel online. Easy, peasy. Together, InterCity, GreatSights and Gray Line connect locals and travelers all over New Zealand, with special coach buses to and from key scenic destinations. The bus drivers are country-proud Kiwis, serving as tour guides in addition to driver, conductor, and baggage handler. There are bathrooms and free WiFi on board, and you can’t beat the view—especially when you don’t have to concentrate on those crazy South Island roads.
Please note: If you are going to New Zealand, we have unused bus pass hours for two people for sale at a discount. We have 17 hours each for 2 people which is a $175 USD ($260 NZD) total value. We’re selling the hours for $150 USD total. Payment can be made via Paypal, and with a quick name transfer at InterCity.co.nz, the passes will be yours. The pass hours are good for bus or ferry services. Travel has to be completed by January 5, 2019. Comment or message me if you’re interested!
It is a 3.5 hours bus ride from Greymouth to Franz Josef. We arrived on time, and were dropped at our Franz Josef YHA hostel.
Hostels…at our age?!
Well, yes! New Zealand’s YHA hostel system is a great idea for those of us who want centrally-located, clean accommodations without the fussy price. In Franz Josef, and in Wellington, we chose the YHA Hostel and got a double-bed room with a private bath. We did our laundry there, alongside some twenty-something backpackers, and hit the streets for a walkabout before dinner. We landed at an outside table at Alice May’s, with a view of all the surrounding mountains. The next morning, we awoke to the singing of unknown birds, and helicopters going up to the glacier.
So, who is Franz Josef?
The glacier was named after Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria by a German explorer, Julius von Haast in 1865. The Māori name for the glacier is Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere (which translates to “The tears of Hine Hukatere”). The legend says that Hine Hukatere loved climbing in the mountains and persuaded her lover, Wawe, to climb with her. Wawe was a less experienced climber than Hine Hukatere but loved to accompany her. One day, an avalanche swept Wawe to his death. Hine Hukatere was broken-hearted and her many, many tears flowed down the mountain and froze to form the glacier. In 1998, the name of the glacier was officially changed to Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere.
From the Southern Alps, the Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimtata ō Hine Hukatere steeply descends into the rainforest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park, making it more accessible for most people. In addition to being one of the steepest glaciers in the world, it also moves faster than average glaciers at over 19 inches per day (and 13 feet per day has been recorded in some sections).
Unlike others, this glacier has a more cyclic nature..receding and returning periodically. A 1946 postage stamp depicts the view of the glacier from St James Anglican Church. The church was built in 1931 with a panoramic altar window looking out to the glacier. By 1954, the glacier had disappeared from the church window’s view, but it reappeared in 1997. The glacier was still advancing until 2008, when it entered a very rapid phase of retreat. As of 2018 it is said to be rapidly advancing again.
Hiking to the Glacier
After a hearty breakfast of poached eggs on potato cakes and a few cups of stout coffee at Full of Beans, we headed out for a hike to meet Franz Josef, as New Zealanders so poetically say, “the glay-see-air”. Past the town, over the Waiho (said “Y-Ho”), and down the path through the rainforest we went. We encountered a variety of ferns, more new bird songs, smoke on the water, and warning signs to stay on the path to avoid dangers of quickly changing conditions in the glacial valley. One sign warned of falling ice “as big as a campervan”, another sign showed 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. comparison photos of the same spot in the riverbed, on a day when the river had surged, flooding the valley. !!! We kept to the path, past waterfalls, rich copper and mustard-colored lichen-covered boulders, stones with evidence of glacial striations…on and on we hiked, the sound of gravel under our feet. The sky grew darker, the temperature got cooler, and the green landscape gave way to gray. Poles, presumably for marking the trail in high snow or raging floods, were marked “no stopping” as we neared the viewing point.
And there it was. Franz Josef Glacier. At the end of the path, and across an expanse of dark gray rocks was a giant tongue of blue ice in the valley between the the mountains. The scale was shocking.
A cool clamminess settled in as we stood there admiring the glacier. It has receded in recent years, and the empty gray riverbed in front of us ghost shadowed where it’d been and where it may again be one day. Rain came. A steady, solid rain. We put our jackets on over our packs and turned to see the long path ahead of us. It was peaceful, walking alone in that moody landscape. The rain stopped about an hour later, and we were almost dry before reaching the hostel.
That night we rewarded ourselves with a big delicious meal at the Landing, underneath an awning in another rain shower. As we sat there admiring the mountains at the end of the road, and recapping our day, the waitress told us that the town had been advised 4 months ago to move…to pick up the entire town and relocate. Why? Because this sweet little town of Franz Josef sits squarely on top of the volatile Alpine Fault line *and* mostly below river level. Meaning that any earthquake “event” would likely crack the town in half and the Waiho would flood what was left behind. Good luck Franz Josef.