Fox Glacier walk: the valley, the viewpoints and Lake Matheson

Fox sits about half an hour south of Franz Josef and feels like a smaller version of it: one street, the same rainforest, the same wall of mountains behind. The valley behind the village runs up towards the glacier, and the walking here is the reason a lot of people stop rather than drive through.

The operator describes the walk as a gentle hike with a gradual climb, accessible across a wide range of ages and fitness levels, and that matches what it is: a rainforest track and a valley floor rather than an alpine route. The guiding is natural history — local geology, the plants, the birds — with the landscape doing the rest.

What sets Fox apart from its neighbour is what is above you. On a clear day the walk has Mount Tasman in view, New Zealand’s second-highest peak, standing over the head of the valley. That, plus the glacier itself, is the reason the Fox valley photographs so well.

Three and a half hours is the listed length, and that includes the half-hour drive in each direction from Franz Josef. There is a break part-way with tea, coffee, hot chocolate and a cookie — small, but it tells you the pace of the day.

Fox is roughly thirty minutes by road from Franz Josef, and the guided walk builds that drive into the day in both directions. If you are staying in Fox Glacier village, the operator picks you up there instead.

This matters more than it sounds. Many visitors base themselves in Franz Josef because that is where the beds and the flights are, then discover that the walk they wanted is at the other village. Having the transfer included removes the question of whether to move accommodation for one morning.

It also makes a sensible two-village day possible: the Fox valley walk in the morning, and Lake Matheson in the late afternoon when the water goes still, both within a few kilometres of each other.

The practical shape of a stay here is usually two nights in Franz Josef rather than one night in each village. The Franz Josef valley walk is $63 for three hours, the Fox walk is $63 for three and a half with the driving included, and both leave from the same township. That gives you two valleys, two guided half-days and one set of bags to unpack.

If the ice is on your list as well, the heli-hikes fly from both villages — $455 at Fox and $514 at Franz Josef — and they are the part of the day that depends on the weather. Booking a valley walk for the same stay means the trip still has its glacier day even when the helicopters are waiting for the cloud to lift.