Roberts Point Track

Roberts Point Track is a 12.3 km out-and-back from Franz Josef Glacier car park, usually about 5 hours 20 minutes return. It starts on the easy, formed Douglas Walk and crosses Douglas Bridge, then turns into a rough advanced tramping track up the true right side of the Waiho Valley. Hende’s Hut, the suspended gallery and a high bridge over Rope Creek break up the climb. The finish is a platform facing Franz Josef Glacier, not a way onto the ice. Do this for a demanding, varied walk and the valley view; skip it if you want a quick glacier stop or aren’t comfortable crossing streams and moving over slippery rock.

Follow Douglas Walk from the car park to Douglas Bridge across the Waiho. That first stretch is easy and well formed, but the character changes once you cross: the track is rougher, with tree roots, rocks and slick sections. Hugh Creek is the first unbridged crossing, soon after the bridge, and more side streams come later. Their level can make the route unsafe. If the water is high, rain is falling or you can’t confidently judge a crossing, turn around. This is a fine-weather walk, not one to push through after rain.

The track winds along the true right of the Waiho Valley over rock carved and smoothed by glacier ice. It’s uneven walking rather than a steady set of steps, and the repeated stream crossings keep breaking your rhythm. The route reaches a bluff with a view down the Waiho before opening onto the rock outcrops at Hende’s Hut. Stay on the marked track: there are steep drops, and the river is not something to scramble down to.

After about an hour, you reach Hende’s Hut, a sheltered place to stop for lunch, not overnight accommodation. The hut dates to 1907, when it housed a forge for the steelwork on Hende’s Gallery. The gallery is the striking part: a suspended and cantilevered walkway threaded along a rock face. You walk through a piece of early track engineering, not past a separate museum exhibit. From here on, the smooth rock slabs can be especially treacherous when wet or icy, so slow down and take care with every step.

Treat the advanced grade seriously: you need good fitness, sturdy boots with grippy soles and confidence on rough, slippery ground. Pick a fine-weather day, check current track conditions and weather at the Franz Josef visitor centre, and carry drinking water. Dogs aren’t allowed. The car park is on Glacier Access Road; the formed Douglas Walk and bridge are the approach to the rough track. Allow the full return time. If you only want an easy stroll, Douglas Walk is the shorter, formed option, but it doesn’t reach Roberts Point.