Franz Josef Motels - Reviews and Rates

Arriving in Franz Josef after a long day driving we had already chose Chatuex Franz hostel as a place to stay because it had a spa!

On arrival we enquired about weekly rates as we wanted to stay at least a week to find work, but the guy on reception said they dont do weekly rates and that the other alternative for a cheap double would be...

Today was a leisurely drive from Greymouth to Franz Josef, stopping along the way at the many points of interest.

The first stop was Shanty Town which we had heard about so thought we'd check it out. It was actually quite good, a little town frozen in time from the gold rush days.
There was a primary school excursion there where all t...

After lots of mountains, beaches and forests our day on the glaciers made an exciting change. We booked a day tour of Fox Glacier which included a guide and the ice krampons. We got a coach to the glacier and after a short walk we got as close to the terminal face (the front) of the glacier as we safely could. Next we tramped up 800 steps (this ...

Oudejaarsdag 2005 bracht ons naar Frans Josef, een klein (errug klein) dorpje aan de voet van de Frans-Josef Gletsjer.
Aangezien het nog steeds prachtig weer was, besloten we voor het inchecken, gelijk even een kijkje te nemen bij de gletsjer. Ook voor Erike, die uit Zwitserland komt en toch wel wat gletsers gewend is, zoals ze zelf zegt, wa...

Day Eighteen - Franz-Josef

We left Punakaiki mid-morning, taking a couple of minutes to go to the pebble beach that our hostel viewed. A minute down the road was a cave that we decided to explore. The opening was easy to navigate, but as it became darker we used our phones and cameras for light, being in absence of a torch. The cave was d...

The morning after the superhero fancy dress, a decidedly green group of backpackers assembled on our green Kiwi bus at the obnoxious hour of 08:00. Jerky Berky's offer to provide sick bags was eagerly taken up by a few of the worst sufferers. But it was a beautiful, crisp morning and the scenery got even better that day. We were taken to an esta...

I met up with my friend Phil and Rahcel who I know from my rugby team in Halifax. They were traveling Australia and NZ and I was lucky to meet up and travel wtih them for part of their trip. The Franz Josef glacier is on the west coast of the south island. Phil and I took a 1/2 day guided tour, which is the only way to actually get on the glacie...

Hi Everyone, This is our second day at Franz Josef and the scenery is amazing. We were locked in yesterday with heavy rain which put the river into flood (Noah would have been envious). We spent the day dodging rain drops, playing cards and watching various TV shows. Last night we ventured out to the local hot pools and set under the last of the...

We decided to have a day that didn't cost lots of money today, so mummy put on her big boots, tucked me and G in the pocket of her trousers and we headed up to the place where lots of the walks TO the glacier, ROUND the glacier and to a nice place from which to VIEW the glacier started from! The lady on the bus was very friendly and checked wher...

Day 180 - Got up at 10:30am and having heard the showers to be merely luke warm (and it being a cold day), decided to go without a shower and set to work getting the knots out of my hair by hand. Went for a walk down the road (the only road) and a very friendly dog kindly accompanied me! Left Barrytown at 12:30 and found the weather back to beau...