Franz Josef

German explorer, Julius von Haast, named Franz Josef glacier in 1865 after the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Franz Josef and South Westland has a long and colour history, in fact Abel Tasman and James Cook saw the mountains of the region from their ships!

The Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers of New Zealand's Westland National Park are remembered by visitors for the extraordinary sights of glacier ice within the forest zone.

The South West New Zealand World Heritage Area is home to the majestic glaciers, Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier.

You find yourself in a wonderland of pristine whiteness - ice pinnacles, blue crevasses, deep caves and towering seracs. The glorious crispness and purity of this jumbled icefall is truly astounding.