Things to do at Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe

Fox Glacier, or Te Moeka o Tuawe, runs 13 km down from the Southern Alps and draws a quieter crowd than Franz Josef, 25 km north along State Highway 6.

The village itself is tiny -- a handful of streets -- but it makes a good base for the glacier and for Lake Matheson, a 40-minute return walk famous for still-water reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook on calm mornings.

Since 2012 there has been no walking access onto the ice itself; the only way onto the glacier now is by helicopter, and flights are cancelled often when cloud sits low. The access road into the valley has been closed by slips more than once, so check current conditions with the Department of Conservation before planning a valley walk.