Ever-Changing Glacial Beauty

Franz Josef’s remote location on the wild West Coast of the South Island makes it the perfect place to hide away, and it’s one of the few places in the world where a glacier actually dips down to sea level. Not to mention, the glacier sits on the edge of a fairytale rainforest. International Business Times’ travel writer Mark Johanson takes a flight on the Helicopter Line and follows the Waiho River out of town which winds its way towards its source, the Franz Josef Glacier. “I got the opportunity to witness, in small scale, the ever-changing theatre of life on a glacier,” Johanson describes. “From the childlike thrill of the crunchy snow beneath my crampon-covered feet, to the humming chimes of the blue ice, Franz Joseph Glacier, was truly a wonder to behold.” The Franz Josef glacier, Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere in Maori, is 12 km long. It is located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.