Fox Glacier access road reopens two months after washout by ex-tropical Cyclone Fehi

Thursday, 29 March 2018

The road to Fox Glacier has reopened, two months after it was washed out by ex-tropical Cyclone Fehi.

Department of Conservation (DoC) staff made a final survey of the area on Thursday morning and the valley was now open to the public, visitor centre senior ranger Chris Monson said.

The road will only be open from 8am to 8pm for the forseeable future. Monson said heavy machinery will be operating around the valley road and track and visitors 'must exercise extreme caution'.

Fox Glacier Bella Vista Motel owner Sue Bergquist said about 20 locals were allowed a supervised visit up the road on Wednesday.

* Tourists rescued after night in cold near Fox Glacier

The Department of Conservation had to re-route the river before reopening access to Fox Glacier on Thursday, pictured.

* Fox Glacier: activities around the township**

'Man, they have done a lot of work. Once you get up there and see, what they have done is huge.'

Bergquist said the entire track had been shifted after a 200-metre section was destroyed in February. A DoC spokeswoman said massive earthworks were needed, and the river had been re-routed.

A section of the Fox Glacier access road was washed out on Thursday, February 1, 2018, as ex-tropical cyclone Fehi hit the South Island's West Coast.

'Where the track had to go, there was a river,' Bergquist said.

She and other local business owners and managers said the lack of access to the town's main attraction had not affected trade.

Many tourists were unaware they couldn't reach the glacier before they arrived, and busied themselves with other activities.

Tourists have been unable to access Fox Glacier since early February, but many don't know that before they show up, local business owners said.

A slip between Franz Josef and Fox Glacier trapped 117 people overnight in February. Access to Fox Glacier resumes on Thursday.

'Yes, sometimes people are here and they are disappointed but there's lots of other things they will do,' Bergquist said.

A local cafe manager, who did not want to be named, said 'the whole South Island is booked up' so travellers couldn't change their plans.

This had been the eatery's busiest February to date, he said.

'It could have been disastrous after the first cyclone [Fehi] came through but the agencies on the highway did an amazing job getting it [State Highway 1] open.'

An employee of Glacier Helicopters said the washout didn't affect them as much as other tourism businesses because 'we're not directly involved with the road'.

Fox Glacier Guiding, the town's primary tourism operator, said it did not have anyone available to comment.