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Queenstown is a resort town in New Zealand. Queenstown has established itself as one of the leading winter destinations of southern hemisphere. Excursions near Queenstown can be very interesting. One of such places for excursion in Queenstown is the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers is located in Westland National Park, which is in South Island's Wild West Coast. The Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are reputed as the two high profile glaciers in entire New Zealand. This is so because Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are unique from the point of view that they are at a height of just 300 meters above the sea level. Another unique characteristic of Fox and Franz Josef glaciers is that they move in a quite rapid rate. It is only here that even at this latitude, two glaciers are so close to the sea in such a temperate environment. These remnants of ice ages gone are dramatic and beautiful, giving the visitor a real sense of the glacier as a river of ice cascading down the mountain valley. At present, the glaciers are advancing at a rate of one metre every day. In 1865, Julius von Haast gave the name the glacier as Franz Josef Glacier in honor of the Austrian emperor of that time. Franz Josef Glacier is located at a distance of five kilometers from the Franz Josef township. The magnificent glacier is a treat to the eyes of the onlookers. Tourists can walk up close to the terminal face of the glacier. But if one wants to walk set foot on the ice, they must avail the helicopter hiking tours or the guided walking tours that are provided there. Fox Glacier was named so after the visit of Sir William Fox, the then prime minister of New Zealand in 1872. The glacier comes down from a height of 2600 meters. The Fox Glacier is also easily accessible to the visitors and tourists through guided and hiking. One can explore the ice formations and blue-ice caves formed on the glacier. The local guides can provide interesting information on the other unique facets of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
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