‘Copter boost to Franz Josef

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 3

‘Copter boost to Franz Josef

By

VICKI FUREY

Skimming over the craggy face of the Franz Josef Glacier in a helicopter (above) is now probably the most exhilarating way to see the icy monolith at close quarters. Since the glacier began receding up its valley 15 years ago it has been more and more difficult for sightseers to reach the glacier face, without walking for some distance over a sometimes hazardous track.,ln the last three months alone the glacier has receded about 130 metres. The Mount Cook Line has been using a Jet Ranger helicopter for sightseeing trips over the glacier since May last year. Now. with the completion of an emergency shelter at Luncheon Rock, the helicopter can land, giving the not-so-energetic a chance to walk on the glacier without the effort of a hike of about four hours. The Westland National Parks Board would let the helicopter land only if a

suitably stocked emergency shelter was built on the rock. At a short ceremony yesterday on the rock, 793 m above sea level on the southern side of the valley, about 4km up from the car park, the shelter was officially dedicated to Peter McCormack, a guide in the area for more than 30 years. The helicopter trip to Luncheon Rock, followed by a walk on the glacier and through an ice cave, is a joint venture between Mount Cook Lines and the Tourist Hotel Corporation. The corporation has provided two guides, Mr McCormack and Rangi Tinirau, to shepherd tourists over the ice near the rock. The cost of erecting the $15,000 hut has been shared by the corporation and Mount Cook Lines. Ferried by light planes from Christchurch and Greymouth, reporters joined locals and V.I.P.s from the corporation, Mount Cook, and the Park Board at the rock for the ceremony. If flying up to Luncheon Rock in the five-seater heli-

copter was breathtaking, the journey down could only be described as nerve-shattering but exhilarating. Hovering momentarily above the helipad the pilot, Bert Gregory, tipped the machine over the edge of the rock, flew along the side of the glacier and banked along the blue-white crevasses of the glacier face. Franz Josef people are looking to the new flight to give a much-needed boost to the tourist industry in the area. At $32 for the flight and the ice walk it would be money well spent. Peter McCormack believes that these flights will “save Franz Josef.” Now everyone will be able to touch the glacier, he says. When the glacier was down near the car park more than 100,000 people a year could walk on to it, but this number has since declined to 20,000. An added bonus for sightseers is that the helicopter will be able to fly into the valley on days when cloud keeps the ski-planes grounded.