Glacier hiking at Franz Joseph

Welcome to glacier country, land of towering mountains topped with snowy glaciers butting up to lush rainforests framing the ocean along NZ's West Coast.

The main draw to this richly contrasted region are glaciers Franz and Fox, dual kings powering over 60 others in their ice kingdom. Located 15 miles apart, each has its own village, Visitor Centre, attractions and accommodations. So which should you visit?

After staying in both my preference was clear. Franz Village was busier with loads of tourists frantically zipping about the streets hurrying to their next activity. Yet shops and restaurants were strangely vacant. Locals seemed calloused toward outsiders. It was the only place in New Zealand that we didn't feel welcomed, and I missed the friendly interactions.

FRANZ activities:
* guided glacier walks
* heli-hiking (NZ, two hour trip) Franz Glacier Guides or Guiding Company
* scenic flights (NZ average for 20-30 minute ride) Helicopter Line or Glacier So. Lakes Helicopter
* kayaking
* sky diving
* White Heron Sanctuary (NZ, two hour tour) plus transport to Whararoa 22 miles north.

Quick Tips:

The weather is highly unpredictable and variable from one glacier to the next. One minute skies are sunny and clear, but by afternoon clouds roll in and scowling tourists congregate inside tour offices fighting over last spots on guided glacier walks–the only activity not on hold until winds, clouds and rain subside.

To increase your odds of flying, it's best to reserve the earliest flights available that day. Then keep your fingers crossed. Our heli-hike in Franz was canceled the same morning that flights operated out of Fox, as their side of the mountain was beautifully clear.

Consider visiting in the winter (June-August) for the best weather. Flights are rarely canceled and snowfall is remarkable minimal.

Franz has a wonderful Information Centre that shows a short film about glaciers for NZ. There's also the highly acclaimed movie Flowing Waters (NZ for 20 minutes) playing in the Alpine Guides headquarters on the main street. We'd hoped to watch it, but sadly it couldn't generate enough interest to play -- minimum requirement just four people!

Before you arrive, stock up on cash (no banks or ATMs) and beverages (sodas cost NZ.85).

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation to Franz is plentiful. Just be prepared for a full day's journey from Christchurch, Nelson or Queenstown.

Intercity buses travel to Franz village from anywhere, whereas smaller Atomic Shuttle vans zip between Queenstown and Greymouth stopping at Franz Village in-between. Most tour groups include Franz on their itinerary as do backpacker buses (Kiwi Experience, Magic Bus) which stay overnight.

From Christchurch:
Take the scenic Tranz Alpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth (9am-1:30pm) then a bus from Greymouth to Franz on either Atomic Shuttle (NZ, 1:45-5pm) or Intercity (NZ, 1:50-5:20pm). Atomic Shuttle has slightly faster transport, but cramped seats on a bumpy van weren't worth the trade off.

From Franz to Fox:
Stand outside the Food Centre to catch Atomic Shuttle (daily 5-5:30pm).

From Franz to Wanaka/Queenstown:
Take the Intercity bus for a smooth comfortable ride and a surprising option of joining a Haast Riverboat tour mid-trip that meets up with your bus an hour later (see Fox journal). Bus departs Franz at 8:00am, arrives in Wanaka (NZ) at 2pm, and Queenstown(NZ) at 4pm.

Glow Worm Cottages get a glowing report from me! What a delightful little place it turned out to be.

Located a block behind the one and only main street in Franz Village, all tour operators, restaurants, taverns and shops are a short stroll away. The "cottages" are actually a series of connected motel units formed into an L-shaped configuration around an attractive hot tub in the courtyard. Surrounded by a wooden fence and lush greenery, the spa is private, alluring and romantic with its open views of the night sky and the snow-capped glacier in the distance.

There are 10 cottages (ah-hem, motel units). Some sleep up to five (NZ$20 per bunk) and others sleep two in a double-sized bed (NZ$90). Dorms are sparsely furnished with shared bathrooms. Socializing is encouraged in the well-kept community room which houses a pool table, television, fireplace and comfortable sitting area.

Double rooms have private bathrooms, televisions, bed linens, thick towels, tall ceilings, kitchenettes, and plenty of storage space for bulky backpacks. Rooms painted a pinkish salmon are decorated with fascinating photographs of early 19th-century adventurers hiking the glacier in long skirts, lace-up boots, parasols, and long poles. Hard to imagine traipsing up that glacier without today's GORE-TEX, crampons, and ice axes!

When we first arrived, the owner mentioned that we could join tonight's BBQ for $5. Skeptical that a decent meal could be had for just $5, we skipped the opportunity to eat cheap and socialize, and wandered down main street looking for a quality meal. Decided on Beeches -— which was a big mistake -— and spent $80 on a wineless less-than mediocre meal. So, take my advice. If you stay here and the owner offers you a BBQ, by all means ACCEPT!

We stayed in a double room (US$47 hard to beat!) and had a blissful night of sleep. So quiet, dark and peaceful here. We'd met some people earlier staying in the dorm next door who invited us to go searching for glowworms when it got dark, using torches from the office. But the idea of getting our boots wet before tomorrow's hike wasn't appealing, so we crashed early enjoying the solitude.

Someday if I revisit glacier country, I'll most likely skip Franz altogether and spend my time in Fox. But if I do return, I will definitely stay at the Glowworm Cottages again. Great rates, location, and comfort. Out of the large number of busy hostels, lodges (NZ$200), motels (NZ$80-175) and motorparks available in Franz, none appeared as charming, reasonable and convenient as the Glow Worm Cottages.

Quality of service certainly can make or break one's impression of a restaurant!

We all have bad days. Most of us just don't wear our frustrations on our sleeves, especially at work. Unfortunately, our waitress was having one of those days and we seemed to be getting the brunt of her anger.

We chose to eat at Beeches, an attractive stone and timber restaurant located on main street in Franz Village next to the similarly priced Landing restaurant. Both were vacant, but Beeches was closer to the action where we could people watch and enjoy views of the towering glacier while we ate outside.

Apparently, we were the first customers of the night, as it took 10 minutes before anyone realized we were there. A sullen waitress came over, placed menus in front of us, and left without attempting a single word, much less a smile. The menu was a la carte. Main dinner selections ranged from NZ$26-28, side salads NZ$6-12, and wines were ridiculously overpriced.

We ordered our meal and waited and waited for our sodas. Our waitress was busy -- talking and laughing with another local on the edge of the patio. I was still waiting for my side salad when the people who had straggled in behind us were already eating their appetizers.

Our dinners and side salad finally arrived. What flair! Gotta hand it to New Zealanders, they've mastered the artful presentation of food! Now if they could just zest up the flavor . . . My salmon with dill sauce was so bland that salt couldn't resuscitate it. Hard to believe something that looked so appealing could taste so flat! David's Thai Chicken Curry was more like a mild sweet barbeque sauce over grisly chicken. At least I enjoyed my salad of mixed greens with chunks of fresh vegetables.

Our waitress never came over to check on our meal or refill our drinks (and trust me, she wasn't too busy with just one other table). We pushed our half-eaten meals aside and waited for our check.

People were scurrying about main street. February was high season and there were a lot of tourists, yet the restaurants and shops were strangely vacant. Some even closed, like Franz Café across the street.

Our waitress delivered our bill with maddening indifference. No "Thank you, come again". She snatched our credit card and disappeared. Unbelievably rude -- so unlike the friendly, outgoing Kiwis we'd met thus far. Not one single word all night! Just arched eyebrows and the look when she expected us to speak. (We learned later that Beeches is renown for their indifferent wait staff, not exactly the reputation I'd be going for . . . .)

This was our only dining experience in New Zealand where we didn't feel guilty for following the customary practice of not tipping. But adding a 20% tip to our NZ$80 bill would've been a bit much to stomach.

HIKING FRANZ JOSEPH

We arrived on a gloriously sunny afternoon with perfect visibility, but awoke the next morning to cloudy skies. Not what you want to see the day of a scheduled heli-hike.

Deeply disappointed, I glumly switched our reservation for a half-day glacier hike, not too keen about the prospect of spending hours on gravel instead of ice. I had so looked forward to walking through ice tunnels in that mystical world of blue ice.

At 10am, we were fitted with hobnailed boots, given Ice Talonz (crampons) and rain jackets. A short bus ride took us across Waiho river to the edge of the rainforest. We hiked through the lush foliage as it began to rain, emerging 10 minutes later on a wide plain of gravel moraine.

The terminal face of Franz Glacier was ahead 1.5 miles away, barely distinguishable in the fog. We hiked over the rocky riverbed in our stiff clunky boots. Thin ribbon waterfalls cascaded down cliffs jutting out of the rainforest–a strange juxtaposition of green ferns and gray moraine. Franz, Fox, and Venezuela are the only places in the world where glaciers exist at sea level.

As we approached the glacier, the walk became increasingly difficult–loose scree scattered over a sheet of ice caused many in our group to slip and fall. Stepping on large graywacke rocks provided the best stability.

Our guide from Franz Joseph Glacier Guides was a young gal who did a great job assisting us and providing just enough geological information. The glacier moves at a rate of three feet per day. Three years ago the glacier touched the ground, but now it has receded halfway up the mount like a half-frosted wedding cake.

To reach the glacier, we climbed ladders over bizarre rock formations and pulled ourselves up rocks assisted by ropes. After nearly two hours, we reached the ice!

We attached our crampons and tentatively took our first faltering steps. Within minutes we were running up and down practice mounds. Slick! We followed our guide up an ice staircase perfectly carved into the glacier, entering a magical world of ice castles and bottomless moats.

Brilliant white snow and vivid blue ice created a fantasyland of towering pinnacles, dramatic crevasses, and peculiar puzzling formations with cut-out designs that might disappear tomorrow. Jagged peaks of blue ice dusted with dark gray edges looked like art. We stepped joyously into this world, drank from pools of clear water, and squeezed through long icy canyons where walls on either side were 10 feet tall.

But the highlight was finding an magnificent ice tunnel. Looking through it, we saw the moraine valley far below. We were on top of the world! The air was clean, the views marvelous, and I was enjoying every minute of it. Until I heard the whirrr of a helicopter . . .

Then it hit me -– THIS was the experience I'd been looking for!

The Tranz Alpine is rated as one of the seven most scenic train rides in the world. Spectacular views truly will keep you entertained on the 4.5 hour journey.

Leaving Christchurch on the East Coast of the Southern Island, the train travels across rolling green sheep pastures of the Canterbury Plains, winds through Waimakariri Gorge over teetering viaducts, climbs upward through forested foothills of the Southern Alps before beginning it's descent through lush rainforests and arriving at Greymouth on the West Coast. Vivid turquoise rivers -– with wide gravel plains bordered by riverbanks dotted with dainty yellow alpine flowers –- snake along forested mountains framed by jagged snow-capped peaks towering in the distance. Beautiful!

We left the train station at 9am on a gorgeous sunny day -– perfect for standing in the open observation car. When not outside absorbing the majestic views, we watched the ever-changing landscape through oversized picture windows from our cushy seats chatting with the young couple sharing our table. There was plenty of space for writing, reading, or eating.

A food car served meals and snacks. My hot breakfast roll had a fried egg, slimy slice of ham, and tasteless hashbrowns stuffed into a thick hoagie. David's chicken curry was bland and our Cokes flat. Not exactly what we'd envisioned for NZ$28, but it was train food.

The train stopped at Arthur's Pass just long enough to stretch our legs and breathe that fresh mountain air. Some passengers disembark here to wander the trails with intentions of catching the train five hours later on its return trip. But pity those who are late . . . there's no overnight lodging nearby.

We were supposed to arrive at 1:25pm and catch the Atomic Bus at 1:45pm for Franz Village. But the heat from the sun caused the railroad ties to buckle, delaying our trip an hour. Worried we'd missed our bus, we were quite relieved to see it had waited for us! We jumped in the van -– which quickly filled up with other train passengers –- and traveled 120 miles along bumpy, curvy roads to glacier country, instantly missing the smooth ride of the train.

Traveling by train was magnificent -- an excellent introduction to the mountainous region we were soon to explore.

The Tranz Alpine travels daily from Christchurch to Greymouth and back again. Most people travel by train one-way, continuing their journey to the glaciers and Queenstown to the west or Punakaiki Rocks and Nelson/Abel Tasman to the east.

***If you like tours check out Scenic Pacific. Sixteen train trips ranging from half-day (NZ$140) to 8 days (NZ$1285) include transportation, lodging, activities and guides. The Alpine Safari (NZ$285) includes jet boating through Waimakariri Gorge, journeying by unimog across a sheep station and traveling by train from Arthur's Pass back to Christchurch.

If you have the opportunity, don't pass it up!