Photo: Francesco Ungaro / PexelsFranz Josef · Waiau
Franz Josef, officially Franz Josef / Waiau, is a glacier township in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, the busy little base for trips up to Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere a few kilometres up the valley. That Māori name means the tears of Hine Hukatere, whose grief for a lover swept away in an avalanche was frozen by Rangi the sky father to form the ice. Julius von Haast named the glacier after the Austrian emperor in 1865, and today the village runs on guided ice walks, scenic flights and the steady traffic of the Coast road.
The directory
Franz Josef questions
What is Franz Josef known for?
Franz Josef, officially Franz Josef / Waiau, is a glacier township in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, the busy little base for trips up to Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere a few kilometres up the valley. That Māori name means the tears of Hine Hukatere, whose grief for a lover swept away in an avalanche was frozen by Rangi the sky father to form the ice. Julius von Haast named the glacier after the Austrian emperor in 1865, and today the village runs on guided ice walks, scenic flights and the steady traffic of the Coast road.
What is the Māori name for Franz Josef?
Franz Josef's te reo Māori name is Waiau.
What region is Franz Josef in?
Franz Josef is in the West Coast region of New Zealand.
What is the population of Franz Josef?
Franz Josef has an estimated population of around 330 (Stats NZ estimate).
More towns in West Coast
All of West Coast →Your page is here. Make it say the right things.
Every NZBN-registered business already has a page on List-It. Right now yours carries only what the register says. Claim it free, add what you do, where you work and when you are open, and ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Google get a verified source to check you against.