The exterior of the Rainforest Retreat, Franz Josef. Photo / Thomas Rees
The exterior of the Rainforest Retreat, Franz Josef. Photo / Thomas Rees
Helen van Berkel stays at Franz Josef's Rainforest Retreat, on the West Coast
Location: 46 Cron St, Franz Josef Glacier. Drive into the Franz Josef village and the retreat is right there – as is a view of the eponymous glacier.
Style: The retreat offers accommodation ranging from holiday-park stylecabins and powered sites to luxury treehouses and cabins to more basic motel-style rooms, which is where we stayed. Our upstairs Lockwood-style room had a well-appointed kitchenette and bathroom with a deliciously powerful and hot shower.
Price: We paid $75 for the two of us to stay a night. We had booked for a cabin but were upgraded to a motel-style room.
Perfect for: The range of accommodation caters for most budgets and group sizes. The retreat is well placed for a few days' stay while walking the local bush and kayaking the local lakes and, of course, to see the Franz Josef glacier only a few minutes' drive away. Some cars in the parking lot had bikes strapped to the back so the retreat obviously attracts the adventurous types too.
First impressions: We were happily surprised by the Rainforest Retreat from the second we drove into the gates. We expected much less, given the price – although it must be remembered we dropped by in the off-season before international borders opened. The reception staff were friendly and helpful and seemed genuinely pleased to see us. We were able to park a short distance from where we were staying.
Room: It was on the second floor and the quality of furnishings and equipment provided was excellent. We both headed straight for the Nespresso machine for a fresh hot coffee to slake our thirst after our drive down the West Coast.
Facilities: After a walk to as close to the glacier as we could get, we headed to the onsite (free) spa pool to relax. The bubbling hot water was just what our backs needed after a day belted into our rented Nissan. It was a magical place to watch the day's blue drain out of the sky to be replaced by night's blackness. Newly serene and content we opted for dinner at Monsoon, the onsite restaurant, tucking into a beef burger (the companion) and a seafood chowder (me) - and the drink was complimentary.
Soak away your troubles at Franz Josef Rainforest Retreat. Photo / Supplied
Family friendly: Larger studio apartments are also available at the Rainforest Retreat, many with their own spa pool.
Nearby: The big drawcard is arcing down the nearby valley: the Franz Josef Glacier. It can be seen from a number of viewpoints around the valley and a nearby field is set up with helicopter pads for those who want a closer-up view of the ice tongue. Information boards along the walk also make clear the impending tragedy of a warming world melting the once-mighty Franz Josef. Will the glacier be at this point by 2100, one board asks rhetorically – indicating a point well in front of the current glacier's end. The Ōkārito Lagoon is also nearby, the New Zealand's largest wetland and home to many rare birds.
Accessibility: Those with mobility issues are catered for with the ground-floor units.
Sustainability: Signs throughout the accommodation remind you to turn off the power when you go out of your room and recycling bins in your rooms encourage separating the rubbish.
