Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The early Maori knew Franz Josef as Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Tears of the
Avalanche Girl). Legend tells of a girl losing her lover who fell from the local peaks, and
her flood of tears freezing into the glacier. The glacier was first explored by Europeans in
1865, with Austrian Julius Haast naming it after the Austrian emperor. The glacier car
park is 5km from Franz Josef village; the primary viewpoint is a 40-minute walk from
there.
