Fox Glacier is a rare temperate glacier that descends almost to sea level through dense rainforest — an improbable sight of blue ice framed by tree ferns and rata. The terminal face is about a 1-hour return walk from the Fox Glacier village, along a valley floor that the glacier occupied within living memory. The scale of the retreat is visible in the raw grey moraine walls on either side.
For the full experience, helicopter hikes onto the upper glacier are the way to go. From above the icefall you reach a different world: ice caves glowing blue-green, seracs the size of buildings, crevasses that drop into darkness. Guides provide crampons and instruction, and the heli approach gives you an aerial view of the rainforest-to-ice transition that no amount of walking can replicate.