Fox Glacier is around 2km longer than Franz Josef but it receives fewer tourists than its northern neighbour. However, like Franz Josef, guided glacier walks involve a short helicopter ride onto the glacier surface making it a rather expensive activity.
Guided walks on Fox Glacier are the number one activity at Fox. Fox Glacier Guiding offer several options for hiking and ice climbing on Fox Glacier. These include a half-day glacier heli hike, a full-day glacier heli hike and the more advanced full-day heli ice climb. There are also guided walks to the terminal face as well as challenging full-day and two-day heli-treks to Chancellor Dome.
Fox Trail terminal face walk
The Fox Trail terminal face walk is the shortest and cheapest activity at Fox Glacier. This involves a guided walk up the Fox Valley to the terminal face of Fox Glacier. This does not involve a helicopter ride and although you get to see the glacier, it does not involve actually walking on Fox Glacier.
Flying Fox: Heli Hike
Flying Fox: Heli Hike is the half-day heli hike which involves return helicopter transfer onto an area of Fox Glacier, 800m above sea level, where you are able to see stunning arches, tunnels and ice caves as well as the spectacular Victoria Falls, fed by melting ice from the Victoria Glacier.
On this trip you are decked out in hiking boots with crampons and each tour has between three and 11 people. Allow four hours for the tour, which includes two helicopter rides (flying in and out) and three hours on the ice.
Extreme Fox: Heli Hike
Extreme Fox: Heli Hike is the full-day heli hike, which is an extended version of the the Flying Fox tour. Depending on ice conditions, you may ford crevasses, abseil down ice walls and be lowered into moulins (ice holes). Like the half-day hike you will also be able to see arches, tunnels and ice caves.
On this trip you are decked out in hiking boots with crampons and each tour has between three and four people. Allow 8–9 hours for the tour, which includes two scenic helicopter flights (flying in and out), lunch, a t-shirt and up to six hours on the ice.
Both the Flying Fox and Extreme Fox heli hikes offer breathtaking photo opportunities, both on the ice and on the helicopter flights there are back.
Fox It Up: Heli Ice Climbing
Fox It Up is the tour for you if you have always wanted to experience ice climbing but never had the opportunity. This is a more active alternative to the heli hikes where you get to learn the techniques involved in ice climbing using crampons and ice axes.
On this trip you are decked out in hiking boots with crampons, helmets and an ice axe and each tour has between three and four people. Allow 8–9 hours for the tour, which includes two scenic helicopter flights (flying in and out), lunch and up to six hours on the ice.
Browne Fox: Chancellor Dome Heli Trek
The Browne Fox Heli Trek is a good introduction to mountaineering where you fly in by helicopter, landing above Chancellor Hut before ascending the 2004m Chancellor Dome summit, which offers breathtaking views over the Southern Alps and towards the Tasman Sea.
The Browne Fox Heli Trek comes in two flavours: a full-day trek and a two-day trek. If you choose the full-day hike, after making it to the summit you will descend back down to Chancellor Hut for your return helicopter flight back to Fox Glacier village.
The overnight version of the trek starts off like the one-day trek, but rather than flying back in the afternoon you have dinner and stay overnight at Chancellor Hut and the following day you descend towards the ice features of Victoria Flat. This trip offers the opportunity to see alpine wildlife including chamois and kea.
There are between two and three people on each Browne Fox tour.
Note: Although this trip offers views of the glaciers, it is not a glacier hike and does not involve walking on the glacier.
