We did the short walk to Peter's pool, with nice views, then carried on to the other short walks…read morewith views of Franz Josef glacier. These paths were very easy 20 minute walks suitable for anyone.

We were supposed to take a helicopter ride and do a guided hike on the glacier, but our trip was…read morecancelled due to low clouds that would have made flying unsafe. The staff at the company offered a guided valley floor walk for a fee, but they kindly noted that the trail on the valley floor was part of the national park, and was free of charge if we wanted to just drive there and walk on our own (since we did have a car!) We were very thankful for the tip! This is an absolutely beautiful park! Yes, driving there does involve a few of New Zealand's famous one-way bridges, but it is worth it! The Franz Josef Glacier Valley Walk takes hikers past what the glacier left behind; geology buffs would go nuts for this! For the average person, the colors and patterns on the rocks are beautiful! There are some beautiful waterfalls along the way, and the ever changing pattern of the water in the valley floor will keep hikers on their toes! Signs are posted that give current trail conditions, and warn if flood risk is likely; as long as risk is low, it seems the worst that happens is that you may have dry shoes hiking out, but soggy ones coming back! The valley floor is very exposed, so sunscreen, a hat and water are a good idea. The views of the glacier are beautiful! The trail ends about 750m from the glacier, so, no, you don't get to walk on it, but you do get to see it pretty well! We also did the Douglas Walk to Peter's Pool which was another pretty view of the glacier reflected in the pond. As an added bonus, this trail is through the rain forest. We enjoyed the plants and birds a great deal! Finally, after dark, we did the Terrance Walk to see the glow worms. This is definitely worth doing; bring a flashlight so you don't trip, but then turn it off to enjoy the glow worm show! Trails are all nicely maintained and clearly marked! This ended up being a great plan B when our trip was cancelled!

Another hike that might not be top of your list ( Milford and Routeburn the tops) but if you want…read moreamazing views of Mt Cook this is the one. Easy hike that crosses some really cook bridges and rivers. The end is a gorgeous glacial lake. Pack a lunch and enjoy the views

Of all the places to hike this is one you will want to get up early to do. We started our hike at…read more7:3am to miss the crowds and be able to see and hear God's beautiful creation. This place is totally amazing! Layer your clothes and take water. When your body warns up you can take off. There are toilets available before your hike. Campground is also located there if your the camper type. About an hour into the hike they currently have the trail closed due to repairs to the bridge. After the hike we drove over to the cafe for hot tea and coffee. Enjoy!

Hiked up to this glacier in the middle of February. We got to the area around 10am and finished…read morearound noon. You could definitely finish in less time; we stopped to take a lot of photos. The area is fairly level throughout but with no benches along the path. The trail is mostly loose gravel so I would definitely recommend hiking shoes. Bring a raincoat! I wouldn't say this hike is stroller friendly but it's definitely suitable for young kids. You don't need walking sticks unless you have trouble walking normally. - Definitely start before noon! There had to be quadruple the amount of people entering the park than leaving the park around this time. When we left around noon the parking lot was nearly full. The parking lot was massive. - Free entry - There are 3 public restrooms at the trailhead. Pretty typical for the NZ public parks, no soap available so bring your hand sanitizer! - No drone zone (due to helicopters). You will be fined $5,000 if caught with a drone. - Follow the IG account poutiniranger for details of their talks and free guided nature walks

Thank you to NZ for making so many natural wonders free to access and visit!…read more We were excited to see the glaciers, and did the short hike to a viewpoint for Franz Josef Glacier. Sadly, the glacier has receded quite a bit, and the viewing spot doesn't get you anywhere near it so it's a bit anticlimactic. The clouds covered the view about an hour later. If you're really excited about glaciers in NZ and aren't going to the Mt. Cook area, I'd recommend doing a helicopter ride and glacier tour to get up close - otherwise you may feel it's a bit average from the viewpoint.

This is a nice easy walk on a gravel and partially paved path with great views of Mt Cook and the…read moreMountains of Fox glacier. It was windy on the day we went so we didn't catch the mirror image of the mountains in the lake, go very early in the day for this. We carried on to the Lake Gault trail which adds another 8 or so kilometers of continuous uphill. The Lake Gault trail starts near the 2/3 point of the Matheson trail ( if traveling clockwise on the trail), and ends at an alpine lake with a picnic shelter and traverses dense forest, and the best part is no crowds on this part of the hike. Hiking poles can be helpful on Lake Gault if you want to take load off of your knees on the downhill.

Wonderful place with gorgeous reflections ! Grab a cup of tea at the cafe ! On a nice sunny day the…read morereflections are gorgeous ! Take your time and enjoy the views

Looking for a rainy day activity for you and your family when visiting Franz Josef Glacier? The…read morethe West Coast Wildlife Centre may be just the place for you as it is open 365 days a year and the best part is that it offers you an opportunity to see a rare New Zealnad Rowi Kiwi. The centre is broken down into a couple of major areas, the kiwi, which is well worth the money spent to go here, and the glacier area that just seems a little too fake for me. So let's start with the positives. The kiwi area does a great job in educating you about the work they are doing to breed a very rare kiwi. It starts with an educational video that gives you some great information ( like did you know the kiwi egg is so big, it would be like a human giving birth to a 6 year old sized child? Ouch!) You then go into a darkened area lit only with the red darkroom lights as kiwi are nocturnal. In the pens are the baby kiwi before they are released back into the wild. You can stay as long as you want in the darkened area and since this is the shining star of the centre, I'd suggest you spend plenty of time here. And if you can't find the kiwi in the darkened room, go and ask someone who works there. They will happily seek them out for you. As you exit the kiwi area, there is another short video to watch about the breeding program that the centre does. Pretty interesting stuff. The next area really didn't do much for me as it is an area of plastic glacier models. I get that the idea is to educate but with the real thing not that far away, these models just fall flat, although the water dripping sound effects are nice. And maybe a kid would want to climb up and explore, but for this grown up? I walked through as quickly as I could. And finally, there is another video which talks about all the great wildlife you can see in New Zealand and then you are out in the gift shop. All day passes will run you $35 per adult (I feel like I must have missed something as I can't imagine what you would do in this place all day). I was in and out in probably an hour or so. There is also a small cafe for coffee and snacks. All in all, the kiwi alone are worth the visit on a rainy day.

Our heli-hike to Franz Josef Glacier was canceled due to weather so we went here instead and I'm…read moreglad we did. We paid just for regular admission (which grants you all-day access). I found the posted information and videos interesting. The highlight of course is the dark room with the kiwis. We saw one adult and three chicks and it was awesome. They were active and fun to watch (and pretty easy to spot). This was a fun rainy day activity.

If you are visiting Lake Matheson, be sure and add a stop to this viewpoint which is less than 10…read moreminutes drive continuing on Cook Flat road after the Lake Matheson turn off, take a right on Gillespie road and part in the lot. There is an interpretive sign and recreation on the a historical canoe plus picnic areas and grassy areas. The main reason to go is the panoramic view of Fox glacier, Mt. Cook and other mountains.

We walked to the trailhead from our room at Mt. Lodge Motels & Inn…read more The Red Tarns route was a 1.5mile steep stairs uphill trek to the top of mountain, then including a small Red Tarn Pond loop- The entire route took about 45min return. To be honest, we cared less about the actual Red Tarns Pond- the stair climb was an excellent cardio hike- and the view from the top was amazing- we didn't bother with the red tarn pond loop once up top, we just sat and enjoyed the view, rewarding ourselves for the climb.

This is a nice moderate walk/hike around Lake Matheson, but my one tip would be:…read more If you're doing the trail to see the famous view of the mountains and glacier, take a look at the start of the hike to see if you can see the glacier! We had a cloudy afternoon with some wind that moved in fast so we couldn't see the reflection or the famous view, which made it just a regular hike. Very dependent on weather if you want that postcard view!

We walked through the trails and forest to get to the river suspension bridge (jetty view point)…read morewhich takes approximately 20 minutes, admiring the flora and fauna along the way. The track continues through the conservation forest to a pontoon that extends out onto the lake which took about 30 minutes. On a calm day, this lake create a magnificient reflection of the surrounding, especially the beautiful reflected views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. It was very serene and pictureque.