Franz Josef & TranzAlpine
Franz Josef, a 12-km. long glacier on the West coast of the New Zealand South Island. It was named after Franz Josef 1, emperor of Austria, by a German explorer Julius Von Haast in 1865. The glacier is fed by a 20 sqm large snowfield at a higher altitude. The glacier attracts about 250,000 per year and there are guided or unguided exploration walks up the glacier.
The TranzAlpine scenic train journey travels between Greymouth and Christchurch, from one coast of the New Zealand South Island to the other. Journey through spectacular gorges and river valleys, lush rainforest, and the Canterbury Plains, it offers stunning sceneries along its route.