Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers

These glaciers formed during the last ice age 15,000-20,000 years ago. Sometimes the ice melts at the bottom faster than it forms at the top and the visible ice appears to retreat back up the mountain, however, it`s still moving down (`comin` atcha like Cleopatra` as The Lonely Planet guide says!)

The prime minister of NZ in 1872, Sir William Fox, named the glacier after himself, (modest man that he was!). Franz Josef (or Franz Ferdinand, as Steve calls it) was named after an Austrian emperor. Of course, the Maori had their own names long before us Europeans came along. We have put in the Maori story of Franz Josef (or Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere - Tears of the Avalanche Girl) to balance things up a bit.