Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier village is in "Glacier Country" on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Tucked discreetly into the rainforest-clad foothills of the Southern Alps, it has a stunning outlook across surrounding farms and offers breathtaking views of New Zealand’s two highest peaks, Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. The tiny township was founded from a gold strike which soon petered out, and it now mostly serves as a base for visitors to its large icy namesake. There's a quiet, intimate village atmosphere compared to the other glacier town, Franz Josef.
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- Do
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- Eat
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- Buy
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22 places
- Eat
Cafe Neve
One of the cheaper eateries in Fox Glacier. Has pizzas as daily specials.
- Do
Chalet Lookout Walk
1 hour 15 minute round-trip with a stream crossing to find a beautiful lookout point over the glacier.
- Eat
Cook Saddle Cafe and Saloon
Decorated as a rustic cabin with old antiques and paraphernalia, and even a fireplace. Serves both lunch and dinner indoors or out. Family friendly and full of local history.
- Do
Copland Track - Welcome Flat
6 to 8-hr tramp one way to the Welcome Flat hot pools. Transport available with Intercity.
- Do
Fox & Franz Josef Heliservices
Flights last for 20-40 minutes, from a simple fly-around and glacier landings, to an extended flight for a closer look at Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and a loop towards Franz Josef Glacier.
$195-375
- Do
Fox Glacier Guiding
The most experienced New Zealand glacier guiding company, offering guided trips onto the glacier. There's the Fox Trot: half-day walk, Flying Fox: heli-hike, Nimble Fox: all-day walk, Fox Trail: Terminal Face walk, Fox It Up: ice-climbing adventure, Chancellor Dome day and overnight heli-treks. The heli-hikes have limited spaces, so booking beforehand could guarantee a spot.
$69-700
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Fox Glacier Guiding Cafe
A convenient stop before early morning guided hikes. Serves breakfast and lunch daily. Offer a range of homemade deli style food.
7:30AM-4PM
- Buy
Fox Glacier Guiding Gift Shop
In the Fox Glacier Guiding Building on the Main Rd, offers a range of gifts and souvenirs.
- See
Gillespies Beach
An 11-km drive down a twisting unsealed road through a rimu rainforest leads to a camping area. From here, walk a bit more and you'll find yourself on a black sand/quartz pebble beach on the Tasman Sea. Near the beach entrance is the rusted and overgrown historic gold dredge, remnants of an old mining settlement. Several kilometres up the beach you can visit a seal colony on Galway Beach, which is a three-hour round-trip walk. Be warned, the number of sandflies here is ridiculously high at the beach, so don't forget to bring insect repellent!
- See
Lake Matheson
Take the 4.4-km walk around the lake to see the beautiful reflection of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman on its dark waters. The lake was formed during the last Ice Age retreat by Fox Glacier 14,000 years ago. The track is well maintained, and there are boardwalks and specially-made platforms for getting the right angle for your pictures. The best light is at dawn, and it's about 20 minutes to the first lookout (and 20 minutes back if you don't want to walk the whole way) and 40 minutes to a floating pontoon.
- Eat
Lake Matheson Cafe
Coffee, and during the busy season, breakfast; dinner is on blackboard menus and change to suit seasonal ingredients. Deli style sandwiches, cakes, pies, cookies and salads with all products made on site. Great views of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman.
Nov–Mar: daily 7:30AM-late; Apr–Oct 8AM-4PM
- Do
Minnehaha Walk
A 20-min round trip through the rainforest on the outskirts of town. Take a torch at night to see glow-worms in the tree trunks and along the banks of the stream.
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Moraine Walk
Tramp over moraine surface into native bush for a 40-min round trip.
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Mount Fox Track
8-hr round trip on a steep marked route through to alpine grasslands that afford views of the mountains, glacier, and the coastline.
- See
Peak View Lookout
Drive down Cook Flat Rd for 10 km west of the township past the Lake Matheson turnoff until it becomes an unsealed road for the best view of the peaks of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. There's a picnic area and a plane table which can be used to identify the different peaks of the Southern Alps.
- Buy
ReflectioNZ Gifts and Gallery
Contemporary merchandise with a New Zealand flavour: jewellery, designer merino garments, greenstone & souvenirs, New Zealand artwork & photos. Overseas shipping available. Friendly, efficient service.
Daily from 8:30AM
- Eat
South Westland Salmon Farm
Fresh and smoked salmon in a variety of dishes like sashimi and pasta. Not really value-for-money, but it's the only stop to eat for the two-hour journey between Fox Glacier and Haast. Check out the salmon ponds at the side.
8AM-4PM daily
- Do
Swing Bridge Walk
River Walk
Walk down to the valley before crossing a historic swing bridge that spans Fox River. 40 min return.
- Eat
The Last Kitchen
A pricier option, but the food is pretty good. Quite busy for dinner.
- Do
Unguided walk
It's roughly a 1- to 2-hour round-trip trek to the glacier. The track can be cumbersome in places, requiring balance to scramble down slick rocks and across small streams, but still easy enough for inexperienced trampers. Unlike Franz Josef, the glacier will not be in sight for some parts of the walk, but you can get much closer to it. Do not proceed past the barriers at the terminal face of the glacier, as the area is extremely dangerous. Two tourists were killed by falling ice after they crossed the barriers in 2009. If you want to step onto the ice, take a guided walk. As of Apr 2019, the Fox Glacier access road (north road of Fox River) is closed due to landslide. Glacier View Road (south road of Fox River) is also closed to vehicles but you can walk on the road.
Free
- Do Not mapped
Skydive Fox Glacier
Take a tandem jump. This is probably the best place in New Zealand to skydive thanks to its amazing scenery.
$225-500 depending on height and options
- Buy Not mapped
Hobnail Shop
Gifts, clothing and souvenirs.
20 of 22 places have map locations.