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Experience  our popular Flying Fox heli Hike with up to 3 hours on the ice or our ultimate Extreme Fox All Day Heli Hike with up to 7 hours on the ice.

FAQ’s

Looking for an answer to your question? We’ve shared some of our most frequently asked questions to help you out!

Bookings & Check-in

We recommend you book in advance so you don’t miss out on this amazing experience. You can easily book with us online, or contact us via phone or email. 

We suggest booking for your first day in Fox Glacier, as our experiences are weather dependent. 

We recommend you make your reservation once you have confirmed dates for arriving in Fox Glacier.

The best time to book is the best time that suits your itinerary! We are happy to move reservations around (subject to availability) for our customers if needed.

Check-in time is 10 minutes before departure.

All trips depart from the Fox Glacier Guiding building which is on the Main Road in Fox Glacier Township.

We have a large carpark which is located to the North of our building.

Our trips are weather-dependent. As we are located in an alpine environment here in Fox Glacier, the weather is very changeable and therefore unpredictable. For this reason, we make our final weather decision for each trip 10 minutes before departure. If the weather conditions are not suitable to fly and we have to cancel your trip, we will arrange for a full refund. Alternatively, if you would like to change to a different departure time, we can make this change, subject to availability.

If you need to change your booking and it is more than 24 hours before your trip departure you can make the changes online with our new booking portal. Please visit Booking Search – Fox Glacier Guiding (customlinc.co.nz) You will need your booking reference and the email address you used for booking.

Yes, all trips require 3 people to go ahead (with the exception of the Mt Fox Day Hike which requires 2 people). If you have less than 3 people in your group, we will do our best to put you on a trip with other people.

Glacier Experiences

No previous experience is necessary for our glacier experiences, our guides are there for full instruction.

New Zealand’s weather is noted for its ability to deliver four seasons in one day at anytime of the year. Dressing with this in mind will ensure you have a great time on the glacier. We recommend 3-4 upper layers such as a light shirt, long sleeve fleece, and a wind-breaker. 

Jeans are not recommended for our trips as they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when wet. Track pants or long cotton pants are best. Shorts are suitable during our summer months.

We will supply footwear, which includes socks, boots and crampons as well as a waterproof raincoat and overtrousers for all of our trips.

If you feel you do not have enough warm clothing on the day, please check with your guide, as we can supply a fleece jacket at no extra charge.

We’re located in a mountainous area and are subject to great variations in weather patterns. The temperature can vary between 0-25°C (32ºF – 77ºF) and the West Coast is notorious for its wild and wet weather – hence its magnificent rainforests!

Weather and cloud levels can change within a matter of minutes. This is why our weather checks are not made until 10 minutes before your departure time.

Yes! This is due to the fact that snow falls up on the top of the glacier in an area known as the Neve all year round. It is this snow that feeds the river of ice, otherwise known as the glacier. Although glaciers are subjected to advances and retreats, it takes a long time to witness any noticeable changes in the glacier’s size.

Even though we can guarantee that the ice is present all year round, specific ice features cannot be guaranteed. These features come and go very quickly due to the movement of the glacier, while new features are forming constantly.

It all depends on the conditions on that day. Generally, we see temperatures in the summer ranging between +5ºC to +15ºC (41ºF – 59º F) and in the winter ranging between -5ºC to +10ºC (23ºF – 50ºF).

Moderate fitness for this trip is a level of fitness sufficient to ascend and descend 500-800m over 4-6 hours carrying a light pack 10kg (22lb).

Good fitness for this trip is a level of fitness sufficient to ascend and descend 1000m+ over 8 hours or more carrying a pack 12kg (26lb) or more over multiple days.

Both the Extreme Fox All Day Heli Hike and Ice Climbing Trips require customers to have a very good level of English in order to participate. 

This experience uses technical equipment to travel on raw glacier terrain. As you are out all day learning to use this equipment and navigating natural features it is mandatory that you can communicate, comprehend, and follow instructions to a very high level. This is for everyone’s safety and presently instruction is only given in English.

If you book this experience and the guide on the day deems your English is not good enough, he/she will not allow you to join, and other options will be given to you.

Health & Safety

There are no individual passenger weight restrictions on all of our experiences that utilise helicopters. However,  if you are over 116kg/256lbs, please contact us so we can be sure to accommodate you.

There is a 3 kg or 6.6 lbs limit per passenger for carry-on baggage. By travelling light, the easier the day is for you, and your body and it is good for the planet as lighter helicopter loads use less fuel. Please take only what is necessary for your glacier trip.- Camera, snack, water bottle & an extra layer of clothing.

No. Please leave your drone behind. It is illegal to fly a drone in Fox Glacier as it is within a National Park.

If you fly a drone, it will be confiscated and you will be fined $5,000. For rules on flying drones in New Zealand, please reference www.airshare.co.nz.

We have successfully guided many pregnant women, at different stages of their pregnancies, on our walks. We have also had several guides who continued to guide well into their pregnancies. As we don’t have detailed knowledge of your condition, it is hard for us to make any personal recommendations.

Some of our walks require a higher degree of physical fitness and agility than others. During all of our walks, clients will be crossing through terrain where there is an increased chance of slipping and/or falling. You must assess the risks relating to your personal physical and medical condition. 

You must be aware that Fox Glacier is 200km (125 miles) away from the nearest maternity hospital and accident and emergency department. If you have any doubts on the day, please discuss them with your guide and they will be able to help you make a decision. If at any time your guide has concerns about your ability to safely complete the walk, they may recommend that you don’t take part or arrange for another guide to escort you back to town.

We are not trying to discourage you from walking with us, but you must be aware you will be responsible for accepting the risks to you and your unborn child.

Refunds / Cancellations

We have a 24 hour cancellation policy. If you would like to cancel your booking kindly notify us at least 24 hours prior to the departure time of the trip and we will arrange for a full refund and no cancellation fee will be charged. 100% of the cost of the trip will be charged if we are notified of a cancellation within 24 hours the departure of the trip.

Fox Glacier Township

Come on an adventure with us!

Fox Glacier township is set amongst some of the world’s most beautiful, unspoiled scenery. Most of the “Must Dos” are based around the outdoors. Here are some of our top picks:

There is an excellent selection of accommodation options in Fox Glacier including hotels, motels, bed and breakfast & home stays, backpackers, campervan parks and motor camps. Below are some suggestions on where to stay in Fox Glacier township.  For bookings, please contact the accommodation provider directly. They will be more than happy to assist you.

The Fox Glacier township is a small country township located on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is approximately

  • 6 hours drive west of Christchurch
  • 5 hours drive north of Queenstown
  • 3.5 hours drive north of Wanaka
  • 2.5 hours drive south of Greymouth
  • 30 minutes from Franz Josef (21 kms/13 miles)

All of our trips depart from our base on 44 Main Road of Fox Glacier (State Highway 6). 

The great thing about our town is that it is small and most accommodation is within walking distance of our base in the middle of the township.