Highlights:
- Famous Franz Josef Glacier is the most popular glacier in New Zealand.
- True South Flights partner with The Helicopter Line and Alpine Guides for this spectacular Glacier Helihike from Queenstown.
- After your one hour flight from Queenstown to Franz Josef Township, hop on for your second aerial adventure and travel by Helicopter to the top of the Glacier.
- Once settled on the glacier your guide will take you through the ever-changing pathways to view spectacular ice caves.
Included:
- Courtesy Transport from Central Queenstown Accommodation.
- Entertaining Pilots Commentary.
- Scenic Plane Flight ex-Queenstown.
- Scenic Helicopter Ride to Franz Josef Glacier.
- Two Hour Small Group Guided Glacier Hike.
- All your equipment is provided.
- Wet weather over trousers and jackets.
- Boots
- Ice crampons
- Small 2-Litre waist bag
- Walking stick (optional on ice)
Day 1 : Franz Josef Glacier Helihike
Our Glacier Heli-Hike is one of True South Flights’ more popular tours, allowing you to enjoy all that the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park glaciers have to offer within a single day. The one-hour fixed-wing flight from Queenstown to Franz Josef Township is just the beginning of a day filled with spectacular scenery. You’ll fly over the Southern Alps, home to over 3000 small glaciers, to Franz Josef on the west side of Mt Cook. The weather in this mountainous region can be very changeable with rain frequent on the western side. We have the flexibility with our guiding partners to be able to alternate from one side to the other should the weather not be suitable to visit the glacier of your choice, and our tours to both are very similar. On arrival at Franz Josef township, we’ll accompany you to your check in with our helicopter and guiding partners, Alpine Guides, who will provide you with all your necessary equipment and a safety briefing. The experienced guides will then take you into a deep part of the glacier via a scenic helicopter flight. Your helicopter will pass over the deep crevasses of the icefalls and waterfalls to land at the upper Franz Josef icefall. Here, you’ll be fitted with crampons for the two hours on the glacier ice, exploring ices caves and seeing the natural, ever-changing wonders of the South Island’s glaciers. Both the Franz Josef glacier tour and Tasman glaciers tour offer very similar experiences and you will not be disappointed with either option. At 23 kilometers the Tasman Glacier is much longer, and the Franz Josef is steeper—but when you hike the glacier there is little to separate one from the other. We suggest you book your preferred option but remain flexible on the day to swap if the weather requires. A minimum of four passengers is required for this tour however if you are travelling solo, please contact us as we may be able to accommodate you with another group.
Meals: None
Pickup/Return: Queenstown
Please check in at our office 30 minutes prior to departure. We are located in the Remarkables Park Town Centre in Frankton, near Queenstown Airport, with free all-day parking. It is best to park near the New World supermarket and walk across the carpark entrance to our building on the corner of the main road (Hawthorne Drive). Please let us know if you don't have access to transport and require a pickup in our shuttle van. Courtesy Coach pick ups are approximately 45 minutes prior to departure, we will reconfirm the pick up time with you during the weather call.
What to Bring:
3-4 Warm layers of clothing
Shorts or lightweight trousers (NO jeans are allowed)
Sunglasses
Any medication that you take daily
Sunscreen
A small water bottle
A small snack
A phone or camera
All items that you bring along must fit in the small 2-litre waist bag.
Items that will not be allowed on the helicopter:
Bags other than the one provided
Scarfs
IPads or tablets
Selfie sticks, handles, gimbles or sticks of any kind
Lighters, vapes or flammable items
Power banks
