Green & red lichen covering the rocks below a waterfall on the south island of New Zealand. You might be surprised that within a mile of this green, temperate rainforest is the edge of Franz Josef Glacier. The western coast of the south island of New Zealand is unique in that you have glaciers next to rain forest, not too far from sea level. Part of the reason that the ice gets so low is that the mountains are so steep and the glacier moves so fast that it gets quite far into warmer climate before melting.