Frans Josef and Fox Glacier are about a 20 minute drive from each other. We found a free campsite, Gillespies Beach, near Fox Glacier. On the road to this campsite there was an incredible view point of Fox Glacier. We ended up spending a lot of time at this view point due to the fact that the free campsite we were staying at was absolutely infested with sandflies making it unbearable to be outside longer than it took to run to and from the toilet. Seriously. You opened a door for 5 seconds and there were hundreds of sandflies inside. Insane. But thankfully there was a lovely picnic table at the viewpoint so we could sit there and enjoy breakfast in peace with out being attacked by the beasts. We never actually went on the walks up to either glacier, mainly due to the rain and cloud cover the whole time we were in the area, but also due to the fact that a glacier is a glacier, once you have seen one you have seen them all I'd say. Seeing Fox Glacier from a distance was good enough for me.
One day we randomly found ourselves on the Tatare Tunnel walk in Franz Josef town. This walk was in a random residential area and started out on a well worn vehicle track, becoming narrow and steep as we got closer to the old water tunnel. Randomly finding this hike meant that we were unprepared for the long, dark tunnel with ankle deep ice cold water. Walking along the tunnel by the light of my phone, enduring the ice cold water and enjoying the few glow worms along the way. We made our way through the tunnel to the Tatare Gorge, not the most spectacular of views. However after some off the beaten path climbing and exploring, my friend was able to capture the beauty of the gorge.
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