Hidden away on New Zealand’s glorious West Coast, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are an awe-inspiring combination of vast ice walls, rain forests, and cinematic scenery that’ll leave you dreaming you’ve been transported to another world. With glacier treks and stretches of fern-covered highway that go on forever, it’s a landscape where nature is in charge—and where a good pie is never more than a few miles away.
The greatest highlight of my journey was coming close to the Franz Josef Glacier. Hiking to the glacier lookout point was a surreal experience—wandering through glacial valleys formed millions of years ago, around tumbling waterfalls and broken cliffs. As I approached it, I heard the creaking of the ice more distinctly, a testament to its eternal movement.
A short drive away, Fox Glacier offered a slightly different but equally mesmerizing landscape. The Lake Matheson Walk, just nearby, gifted me with one of the most stunning reflections I’ve ever seen—snow-capped peaks mirrored perfectly in the still waters. No wonder it’s called the Mirror Lake!
For the ultimate experience, heli-hiking is where it’s at. A helicopter tour over the glaciers, followed by an ice hike, is as close to sitting in the front row of a deep blue crevasse and otherworldly ice formations as you’ll ever get. It’s as close as you’ll ever come to feeling as if you’re on another planet.
Traveling between these glaciers was an experience by itself. The winding, long roads were enveloped in a seemingly endless ocean of ferns, and the drive had a prehistoric atmosphere. Around each bend, huge mountains towered in 3D, their rocky tops covered in mist, and the whole landscape had a live painting quality to it.
If there’s one thing you should learn when traveling in this area—it’s that pies are no joke. Each town, each café, and each roadside bakery appeared to have its own take on the ideal New Zealand meat pie. The steak and cheese pie from a small shop in Franz Josef village? My personal favorite. Flaky, buttery crust with rich, slow-cooked filling—it was the perfect fuel for glacier hiking.
And then there are the sweet pies. The boysenberry and apple pie was a revelation, served best with a hot flat white while watching the rain roll over the mountains.
Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are not so much about the ice as about the journey. It’s about twisting through emerald-green landscapes, being at the bottom of ancient glaciers, and enjoying the simple pleasure of a warm pie after a day of adventure. It’s an area where nature’s power is all out, but somehow it is supremely peaceful.
As I pulled away, with mountains disappearing in my rearview, I knew this was not a visit—it was an experience indelibly etched in my memory.
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