Fox Glacier


Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe is a temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It was named in 1872 after a visit by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir William Fox. With the passage of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, the glacier's name changed to Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe.

Geography

Fed by four alpine glaciers, Fox Glacier descends on its 13 km journey from the Southern Alps towards the coast, finishing near rainforest above sea level. After retreating for most of the previous 100 years, it advanced between 1985 and 2009. In 2006, the average rate of advance was about a metre a week. In January 2009, the terminal face of the glacier was still advancing and its vertical or overhanging faces regularly collapsed.
Since then there has been a significant retreat, with the 2009 high level clearly visible as vegetation line on the southern slope above what is left of the lower glacier today.
The outflow of the glacier forms the Fox River. During the last ice age, its ice reached beyond the present coastline, and the glacier left behind many moraines during its retreat. Lake Matheson formed as a kettle lake within one of these.

Tourism

Like nearby Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, with its terminal face an easy walk from Fox Glacier village/Weheka. It is a major tourist attraction and about 1000 people daily visit it during high tourist season. Though people are told not to, some go beyond the barriers and climb without guides onto the glacier, whose rapid advance creates dangers of sudden ice and rockfalls.

Accidents on the Glacier

Two Australian tourists, Ashish Miranda and Akshay Miranda, were killed on 8 January 2009 when more than 100 tonnes of ice fell on them. They were not part of a guided group and had crossed safety barriers and walked approximately 500 metres to the terminal face to take photos.
Ashish's body was recovered shortly after the accident. At the time, it was thought by rescuers that Akshay might have to be left under the ice permanently. However, his body was recovered a week later, 10 km downstream from the accident.
On 21 November 2015, seven people were killed when a Eurocopter Écureuil helicopter on a scenic flight crashed on the glacier. The helicopter was operated by Alpine Adventures.