4 Must-See South Island Glaciers

The glaciers in South Island, New Zealand are renowned for their beauty and scale. Eager adventurers have so many South Island glaciers to choose from for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, too. If you’d like to take a trip to New Zealand’s South Island and explore the scenery there, we recommend visiting these four glaciers above all others: 

• The Bonar Glacier – The Bonar glacier is a stunning, icy expanse in the Mt. Aspiring National Park of New Zealand’s South Island. A scenic flight from Wanaka is the best way to experience this glacier in its entirety as it winds down the steep slopes of the Southern Alps. Professional trekkers often organise expeditions across the Bonar Glacier, which is striking when visited in the early morning.
• The Franz Josef Glacier – Located on the West Coast, this is a South Island glacier able to be enjoyed in a myriad of ways. You can embark on a guided hike, Heli-hike or scenic flight, expeditions which provide equally unique ways of experiencing this beautiful river of pure, frozen-solid ice. We can’t understate the size of the Franz Josef Glacier, either. It’s 7.5 miles long and over 7.7 square miles in area! 
• The Fox Glacier – The Fox Glacier is as mysterious and interesting as it sounds. In fact, it is a special remnant of the Ice Age, not far from the Franz Josef Glacier. It is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, and attracts up to 1000 people a day during the peak tourist season! The Fox Glacier is intricately connected to local Māori history, too, with the tragic legend of Hine Hukatere and her lover Tuawe. Tuawe, killed in an avalanche, rests at Fox Glacier. 
• The Tasman Glacier – Situated in the picturesque Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park, Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in New Zealand, with a glacial lake nearby and a gorgeous panoramic view of the surrounding alpine scenery. Though the Tasman Glacier has experienced an unfortunate period of rapid melting from the 1990s, it remains an impressive 2000ft thick and 2.5 miles wide.  

The only locally owned and operated scenic flight company in Wanaka, New Zealand, Southern Alps Air is the airline you need when exploring the South Island and the beautiful glaciers, mountains and landscapes to be found there. For more information about our personalised flights, contact a member of our team as soon as possible.