http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sandamichaela-1384701-glaciers-country/

The self-proclaimed ‘Glacier Country’ is at the heart of the broader UNESCO World Heritage Area Glacier This place is known as "Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand”

New Zealand detached from the super continent Gondwana some 80 million years ago and set off on a unique evolutionary adventure. Trees and birds developed their physiological distinctions and many have not changed since the time of the dinosaurs. Today, you can still feel the magic of lingering prehistoric ghosts.

  Glacier Country is a microcosm of Gondwana, and an illustration of modern history.

The early Maori knew Franz Joseph 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 Maori name for the glacier is Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere (The tears of Hinehukatere)

The legend of the Makawhio people (a sub tribe of the Nga Tahu) says that Hinehukatere was an extremelyfit and fearless young woman wholoved climbing in the mountains.

She persuaded her lover, Wawe to climb with her. Wawe was less experienced but enjoyed accompanying his beloved.

Leonard Harper crossed “Harpers Pass” in 1852 and named the Franz Josef glacier 'Victoria' and the Fox Glacier 'Albert' after the Monarchs’ that were ruling the British Empire at the time. Sadly the nineteen year old Leonard did not formerly register this name.

The area around the lake is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and is surrounded by native kahikatea (white pine) and rimu (red pine) trees, as well as flax and a variety of New Zealand fern species.

In 1865 Julius Von Haast decided to name the glacier after “His Imperial Majesty” Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria and the local village later took its name from the glacier

This was only the first of a number of landmarks that Mr Haast did not actually 'discover' as a European explorer, yet, he took the liberty of naming. 

The glaciers form from the weighty layers of snow compacting into hard blue ice. The pressure of snow above and gravitational pull force the ice down the valley to within 200 meters above sea level and within a few kilometers of the main road

At such low levels the terminal face is constantly melting. Because of its steepness and location, the Franz Josef Glacier is the most dynamic in the world and responds quickly to variations of precipitation and temperature.

Fox and Franz Josef are two of only three glaciers in the world that end at only 300m above sea level amidst lush tropical rainforest.

Franz Josef Glacier is approximately 10 km long.

Emperor Franz Josef “gifted” one of the Westland Tai Poutini National Park greatest pests. The two males and six female chamois were shipped to Wellington, taken by train to the Hermitige in Mt Cook National Park and released in 1907.

As long as you hold a current permit the hunting of chamois is now unrestricted and even encouraged by the Department of Conservation to limit the animal's impact on New Zealand's native alpine flora.

Fox Glacier village (population 280)

The historic Heartland Hotel Fox Glacier originally opened in 1928 and has provided a comfortable bed for the night for more than its fair share of climbers and adventurers from all corners of the world. Restored in 2007, conveniently located in Fox Glacier village, Heartland

Hotel Fox Glacier is the perfect ‘base camp’ for discovering this spectacular area

Fox Glacier village (population 280)

Fox Glacier village (population 280)

The cliff carved away by the Fox Glacier

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu

Doina Grigoraş

Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasandaSound: Haere Re A Hine - Kiri te Kanawa

Maori traditional song - Haka