South Westland’s awe-inspiring natural splendour seems to grow in stature the further south you go. There’s a fairytale quality to the sense of escapism as you drive through those long and leafy highway glades, where the forest canopy drapes across the road.

A great base for all your Glacier Country adventures is Franz Josef township, which is also home to the West Coast Wildlife Centre. They operate the official breeding programme for the world’s rarest kiwi, the Rowi. Six years ago, several-dozen kiwi were released into a new Department of Conservation (DoC) sanctuary in the Omoeroa ranges near Lake Matheson, just out of Fox Glacier.

I adore the magnificent mirror of Matheson, reputed to be New Zealand’s most photographed lake. Get up early for a dawn jaunt or end your day with a lakeside stroll at dusk, and you might even hear the kiwi calls reverberate across its reflective waters.

Nestled in ancient rimu and kahikatea forest and revered for its mirror views of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, its exceptional reflecting properties are due to the dark brown tannins leaching into the water from the forest floor. Keep your fingers crossed for calm clear weather that are essential ingredients for mirror magic.

It’s a 40-minute return walk from the car park to the Jetty Viewpoint. For a longer leg-stretcher, plump for the 90-minute Lake Circuit route, which leads you to the View of Views at the top of the lake, plus Reflection Island. The painterly spectacle of a pristine mountain reflection, shrouded in native foliage, is what mesmerising travel moments are all about.

Providing some stiff competition to Lake Matheson, the Lake Gault walkway is an alluring alternative – or added extra. It takes you higher up an extended three-to five-hour 8km return hike, threading through ancient podocarp forest to reach Lake Gault. Pray to the weather gods and you’ll be rewarded with sizzling alpine views. The track starts and finishes right next to the Lake Matheson Café and Reflections Gallery.

The twin glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox are revered as being two of the most accessible glaciers in the world, plunging down from the Southern Alps almost to sea level. From the valley floor, the walking tracks to the terminal face viewpoints will take you about 30 minutes to complete at Franz Josef and 90 minutes at Fox.

Another great jaunt in Franz Josef is the one-hour-20-minute return walk to Callery Gorge, where you’ll be following in the footsteps of gold miners on this historical route, which unfurls as a rainforest and electric blue glacial water symphony. If you have little ones in tow, a splendid little walk leads you to Peter’s Pool. Starting from the Glacier Access Road, this fully accessible walk winds through the rainforest to a small kettle lake, which was formed by ice melting among the glacial moraine about 200 years ago.

Where to stay? Legacy Te Waonui Hotel Franz Josef is one of my all-time favourite eco-luxury accommodation experiences in New Zealand. Thickly enrobed by rainforest, this five-star boutique retreat in Franz Josef is a haven form the hubbub of the tourist town. The focus has steadfastly stayed trued to its roots – to create a healthy, environmentally safe habitat to maximise guests’ wellbeing. Every aspect of the retreat has been crafted to impress.

While I was staying at Te Waonui, a huge group of perky 65-plus cyclists checked into the retreat, from all over the world, after rocking the West Coast’s wonderful cycle trails. Their sense of anticipation for some blissed-out indulgence was palpable. Ingeniously built around a thick tract of rainforest, this restorative retreat continues to raise the bar on luxurious wilderness hospitality.