West Coast Glaciers

Date: March 17, 2019 – March 19, 2019
Location: On the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand

March 17, 2019
Coal Creek Track

We left the Airbnb in Cape Foulwind and drove south along the western boarder. We stopped to do the Coal Creek Track.

The trail goes to Coal Creek Falls. We could see the falls from higher up on the trail.

The Coal Creek Track ends at the edge of the river.

On the side of the trail we saw some huge mushrooms.

After finishing the Coal Creek Track we continued to drive south and stopped for lunch at Monteith’s Brewing Company in Greymouth.

Hokitika Gorge Walk

After lunch we did the Hokitika Gorge Walk. There was a view of the swing bridge and Hokitika River.

This was a view from the swing bridge. With all of the rain there was a lot of silt in the river, so it looked gray instead of blue.

We then made our way to the Airbnb in Pukekura. Pukekura is the smallest town on the west coast with a population of six.

March 18, 2019
Lake Matheson Walk

We drove south to Fox Glacier for the Lake Matheson Walking Track.

The trail was nice through the forest.

It was very cloudy so we only went to the Jetty Viewpoint. The trail goes around the lake, but we turned around since the clouds obstructed most of the views.

Sentinel Rock Walk

After leaving Lake Matheson, we drove north to Franz Josef Glacier. We parked in the Franz Josef Glacier Car Park at the end of that Franz Josef Glacier Access Road. We did a short walk up to the top of Sentinel Rock. From the viewpoint we could see the Waiho River and glacier valley. In the early 1900s, the Franz Josef Glacier covered the entire valley. The glacier used to go all the way to the Tasman Sea, but now ends 19 km from the Tasman Sea.

Peters Pool

From the same car park we were able to walk to Peters Pool. The small lake is named after a nine-year-old boy named Peter, who, in 1894, camped beside the lake, which was unnamed at the time. We liked the reflection of the mountains in the lake.

March 19, 2019
Alex Knob Track

We went back to Franz Josef Glacier Access Road to do the Alex Knob Track. The trail is about 9 km each way. On the way up there was a clearing so we could see the Waiho River.

The first view of Franz Josef Glacier is from Rata Lookout.

On the way up there is another lookout named Christmas Lookout.

We continued going up, but before we reached the top clouds moved in. There was reduced visibility so we decided to turn around.

We enjoyed the Franz Josef area and recommend seeing it. Unfortunately, as per the New Zealand Department of Conservation‘s website, on March 26, 2019, the Franz Josef Glacier Access Road closed due to significant damage from severe weather.

With the road closed there is no access to the Sentinel Rock Walk, Peters Pool Walk or Alex Knob Walk that we did. There are other trails from the access road that are also closed.  As of May 4, 2019, the Franz Josef Glacier Access Road is still closed.