The shortest glacier walk at Franz is the Heli-Hike, it's 2 hours walking on
the glacier, but it is the most expensive ~NZ$230 per person) . The next
shortest is the half day hike, it's 4 hours. You get dropped off at the
parking lot walk to the glacier (1hour) then walk up for a little over an
hour, and then walk back. Then full day hike is 8 hours and it takes you 2
hour higher than the half day. The walks (and Heli-Hike) are separated into
groups; fast, medium speed and National Geographic. The situation at Fox is
similar. There are walks around the glacier (Franz Joseph) , and you could
easily spend a few days just on these walks. The walks vary from 5 minutes
(Peter Pool) to 8 hours one way (Alex Knob). These walks start from the car
park which is about 4 miles from town. There is a glow worm dell at Fox and
a short walk (1.5 hours) near the egde of town (Minnehaha), from which you
could take the longer Ngai Tahu walk back. A good walk would be around Lake
Matherson (4 miles from Fox). The lake is usually very still, and you can
see Mt Tasman (left) and Mt. Cook (right) in the reflection of the lake
(look for the postcard in the shops).

If you're driving between Queenstown and the Glaciers stop in Wanaka for a
day or so. Puzzling world is a must see, holograms, a giant maze and a room
tilted at 15 degrees are a few of the attractions. Plus the tables are full
of little puzzles, should keep the kids entertained for a while. The
Paradiso movie theater is also a must (old recliners are the chairs as well
as a converted VW bug). The walk up Mt. Iron give a great panaromic view.
The 3 hour Rob Roy track at Mt Aspiring National Park (34 miles from Wanaka)
gives a great view. There is also rock climbling, Transport & Toy Museum,
Fighter Pilot Museum etc..

The best thing to do is get a hold of a Lonely Planet New Zealand and thumb
through it. It will also give some web-sites that you may want to check
out.

Dwayne