Franz Josef Glacier Guides · Franz Josef
A helicopter lifts you from Franz Josef village onto the main icefall of Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, where a guide cuts steps through blue ice for about two hours. It is the only way to stand on Franz Josef Glacier, and only one company is allowed to take you there.
Franz Josef Glacier Guides is the only company certified to guide on this glacier, so every heli hike on Franz Josef starts at its Glacier Base on Cron Street. You check in 15 minutes before your slot and get fitted for leather boots, socks, a Gore-Tex jacket, over-trousers, a hat and gloves. Then it's a short walk to the helipad. The flight takes a few minutes each way, about 10 minutes in all, and puts you down high on the main icefall.
Up there the guide clips on your crampons and leads the group single file, cutting and re-cutting steps as the ice moves (the operator says the icefall can travel up to 5 metres a day). The listing promises about 2 h 15 min on the ice; Franz Josef Glacier Guides says up to 2.5 hours. Expect seracs, narrow blue crevasses and, when the ice allows, a squeeze through a cave. Expect stops too. One guest wrote that the group covered "maybe a few hundred meters" because the guide kept working on the trail. If you want distance, the 5.5-hour extended option takes ages 14 and up.
The catch is weather. The operator needs a clear window of about four hours, and the West Coast gets up to 5 metres of rain a year, so helicopters are grounded often. A weather cancellation is refunded or moved; a fitness problem on the day is not refunded. Booking direct costs NZ$899 per person, adult or child, on franzjosefglacier.com. The price here is about the same money, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Te Ao Marama, Glacier Base, 63 Cron Street. Sign in and get fitted for boots, jacket, over-trousers, hat and gloves. Everything you carry goes in the waist pack they hand you.
A short walk to the pad, then a few minutes in the air over the rainforest and up the valley to the icefall.
Crampons on, a safety talk, then single file behind the guide through seracs, crevasses and, on good days, an ice cave.
The helicopter collects the group on the ice and drops you back at the helipad.
Hand back the kit and you're done. The whole trip takes up to 4 hours from check-in.
★★★★★We were thoroughly impressed by our guide, the quality of service, and the attention to safety. The guides actively chip out your trail as you go and the facility provides high quality gear so you don't need to pack it from home.
★★★★★An amazing experience! Our guide Angus was fabulous balancing the science of the glacier (had a glaciology degree!) with the traditional Maori stories of how the glacier formed.
★★★★★We luckily stayed for two nights so when our first flight was cancelled due to weather, we were rebooked the next morning and it was such a beautiful hike and experience! [...] The hike is not very strenuous although you should be fit to do this activity. But the guides takes lots of stops/breaks so you’re never out of breath.
★★★★★The experience was cancelled the previous 6 days before our booking but we seemed to have picked a perfect day for it and it went ahead. When you check in, you’re fitted with your gear then head out to the helicopter. The ride is so amazing and the views are incredible.
Read next:
No. Guided walks onto the ice from the valley ended in 2012 as the glacier retreated, and the free valley track stops at a viewpoint about 3 km from the ice. The heli hike is the only way on. Our guide Can you walk on Franz Josef Glacier? explains why.
About 2 h 15 min according to the listing, up to 2.5 hours according to Franz Josef Glacier Guides. The flights add about 10 minutes, and the whole trip takes up to 4 hours from check-in. The extended trip runs about 5.5 hours for ages 14 and up.
The operator calls it on the day and needs a clear window of about four hours. Weather cancellations get a refund or a new date, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before. If the trip is cut short on the ice, a guest reports getting a partial refund. More in our weather guide.
Minimum age 10 for the standard trip and 14 for the extended one. Every guest must weigh between 35 and 115 kg and be at least 137 cm tall. Pregnant travellers can't join, and children must come with an adult.
Ready to book
Fly onto Franz Josef Glacier and spend about two hours on crampons with a guide. Boots and waterproofs included, free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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