Tauranga Airport (TRG) is located between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, around 3km from Tauranga city centre.
The airport is served by Air New Zealand, which has flights from Tauranga to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. Barrier Air and Sunair also operate from Tauranga Airport, with both airlines flying to Claris on Great Barrier Island and Sunair also operating flights to Gisborne, Motiti Island, Whitianga and Auckland’s small North Shore Airport.
The airport is not served by local buses, although local bus routes 1, 2 and 33 stop on Hewletts Road around a 10-minute walk from the airport terminal. Get off the bus when you see the big Bunnings Warehouse store and walk down Jean Batten Drive.
Rotorua Airport (ROT) is in Rotokawa, around 6km east of the town centre. Most flights from Rotorua are operated by Air New Zealand who fly to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. Flight Hauraki and Sunair fly from Rotorua to Auckland’s smaller North Shore Airport and Sunair also have flights from Rotorua to Gisborne and Whangarei.
It is a small airport, but big enough for a cafe and newsagent and there is free Wi-Fi access throughout the airport terminal.
Local bus route 10 connects the airport with the town centre, which is supplemented by the door-to-door airport shuttle service operated by Super Shuttle.
A helicopter flight offers a birds-eye view of the glacier and several of the helicopter operators are licensed to land on it.
Scenic helicopter flights start from a quick 20-minute buzz over Fox Glacier to a longer flight over both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and flights that take in Mount Cook and Fox, Franz Josef and Tasman Glaciers.
If you’re thinking about shelling out for a helicopter flight, you should also consider both the heli-hiking tours on Fox Glacier and also skydiving as both these activities include scenic flights over Fox Glacier.
The following video and bookings are for scenic helicopter flights operated by Glacier Helicopters.
Skydiving at Fox Glacier offers much the same scenic views as skydiving at Franz Josef, but at a lower price.
Although you don’t get the option to jump from 19,000ft (only Franz Josef offers that option), you do get the option to jump from 2740 metres (9000ft) with around 20 seconds of freefall, 3960 metres (13,000ft) with 45 seconds freefall and 5030 metres (16,500ft) with a 60-second freefall.
The most popular jump height is from 5030 metres (16,500ft). At this height you’re jumping from over 1km above the summit of Mount Cook with views to both the east and west coasts of the South Island. As you’re skydiving from 5km above sea level, oxygen is provided on these jumps.
If you don’t want to wear an oxygen mask, or just want a slightly cheaper skydive, then the 3960 metre (13,000ft) jump is the next most popular option. This skydive sees you jumping level with the summit of Mount Cook with views of the glaciers and the West Coast and 45 seconds of freefall.
You couldn’t call any skydive cheap but skydiving at Fox Glacier is pretty good value when you consider that people pay the same money for a scenic flight over the glaciers without the thrill of jumping out of an aeroplane.
Along with Skydive Franz, Skydive Fox Glacier is one of the few skydive operators that cater to people heavier than 100kg.
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.
Thinking of taking a scenic flight over the glaciers? Well, why not take it one step further and jump out of the plane to experience one of the world’s most scenic tandem skydives.
Not only is this one of the most scenic skydives, but skydiving in Franz Josef gives you the opportunity to jump from a breathtaking 5790 metres (19,000ft), which is New Zealand’s highest commercial tandem skydive giving you over 75 seconds of freefall. There is also the option for the more conventional – and cheaper – jumps from 2740 metres (9000ft) with around 20 seconds of freefall, 3960 metres (13,000ft) with 45 seconds freefall and 5030 metres (16,500ft) with a 60-second freefall.
Along with Skydive Fox Glacier, Skydive Franz is one of the only tandem skydiving operators in New Zealand to cater to customers over 100kg, although a small surcharge does apply.
The West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef is home to two of the rarest kiwi species: the Okarito (or rowi) and Haast tokoeka (a sub-species of the southe
