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Fox Glacier, New Zealand

The small town of Fox Glacier, New Zealand is more of a village than the nearby larger town of Franz Josef. Fox Glacier is nestled half way up the West Coast of New Zealand, with stunning views of the Southern Alps and Mount Cook (Aoraki), with rainforest coming right down to the village. Fox Glacier has a range of accommodation options, hotels, motels, cafes, a general store and petrol station. During the peak season from November to April, we recommend booking ahead, as accommodation is heavily booked during this period.

From Fox Glacier you can take a walk to the terminal face of the glacier, take a heli-hike on to the middle of the glacier to explore the ice caves, or take a scenic flight with or without a landing on the glacier. Make sure you visit stunning Lake Matheson only a 6 kilometre drive west of Fox Glacier through the rainforest, with the beautiful reflections of Mount Cook (Aoraki) and Mount Tasman on the lakes surface. Gillespie's Beach an old gold mining settlement on the Tasman Sea is a little further on.

Located 30 minutes south of Fox Glacier is the picturesque Bruce Bay, with its sandy beach and stunning rimu forest. Bruce Bay is where, according to Maori mythology, the legendary hero Maui is supposed to have first landed. In recognition of this story, the local Maori tribe has recently built a marae here.

Fox Glacier Weather

Fox Glacier weather is very variable, with many days of heavy rain, with some sunny days. Each year there are about 178 rainy days with an average annual rainfall of 4700 mm. There are however a lot of sunny days too, with an average of 1860 hours of sunshine each year. Late summer and the middle of winter tend to have milder than average South Island temperatures, with higher sunshine hours. Temperature range in summer is 10-21C, and in winter 2-12C.