Photo: Fox Glacier Summit South Island New Zealand

At the summit of the Fox Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand, the scenery is stunning as the sunlight reflects off the snow and ice under the deep blue colored sky.

Rocks beginning to peek out on Fox Glacier in Westland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand as the warm summer sun shines off the summit. The snow and ice appears as if it has been folded as it breaks apart in sections during the warmer climate passing through New Zealand.

Small crevasses at the summit of Fox Glacier begin to form where you can see the blue coloring of the ice becomes visible. Fox Glacier is continuously growing as winter brings close to 100 meters of snow on a yearly basis to the summit and then summer approaches, once again altering the glacier landscape.

The snow and ice carry a great deal of weight and in turn this pushes the ice down the valley. Along its way it can take some of the rocks making the shape and size of Fox Glacier different every day. Some of the ice that melts creates rivers and spectacular waterfalls farther down the mountain side which are an exquisite blueish green color. ... continue below the picture...

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To reach the summit of the Fox Glacier, special ice climbing equipment is needed like ice axes, special spikes called crampons on your boots, specialty ice sticks and the appropriate clothing. Once you are atop Fox Glacier, the scenery is spectacular as you can see for miles across the glacier landscape of the South Island of New Zealand and across to other gigantic snow covered mountains. The summit of Fox Glacier is a place where you will never experience such beauty from a single location.

Top of the Fox Glacier, New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, Westland, Westland National Park, National Parks, Glacier Pictures, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Te Wahipounamu, Main Divide, Southern Alps