Thousands of people come to New Zealand each year to have an up close and personal experience with its very accessible glaciers. In the west coast town of Franz Josef, gateway to the Franz Josef glacier, tourists can hike to the foot of the glacier through a boulder-strewn riverbed, catch a helicopter ride over the glacier, fly over in a small plane that even lands on top of the glacier in the middle of the fight, or even join a professional guide for a hike to the top via steps carved into the ice face. Cost considerations aside, these activities tend to exclude those visitors who lack a certain level of fitness or a well-developed sense of adventure.

Mountains and Franz Josef glacier mirrored in Peters Pool

Fortunately, it is not necessary to be an adrenaline junkie or even an experienced trekker to see the Franz Josef glacier. Rather than struggling miles through the rough and tumble river bed to reach the foot of the glacier, visitors can walk the Douglas Loop, an easy trail leading through sub-tropical vegetation that seems out of place in the glacial ecosystem. The well-defined pathway winds through a palm tree-studded forest where lush Boston ferns cover the spongy ground and tree trunks are covered with exquisite blankets of miniature lichens and mosses. At the halfway point, the forest opens to reveal Peters Pool, a kettle lake that was formed around 1800 AD by ice melting amongst glacial moraine. This glassy pond perfectly mirrors the distant glacier, creeping down to the valley between Mt Moltke and Mt Roon in the Fritz Mountain Range.

Sub-tropical vegetation along the trail incudes exquisite miniature lichens that climb tree trunks

The pathway is mostly level and paved with hard-packed rock that is rated handicap accessible. The entire hike takes less than an hour and, with the possible exception of a $10 taxi ride from the nearby town, is totally free.

Photo Credits: Barbara Weibel

Article by Barbara Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels