A German tourist who sprayed graffiti on the rocks and ice face at Franz Josef Glacier returned to the natural landmark at the weekend to clean up his scrawls.
German tourist Jan Philip Scharbert was photographed by English tourists tagging rock walls and the glacier on Thursday. They gave the photographs to Department of Conservation (DoC) staff.
Constable Paul Gurney, of the Whataroa police, said that early the next morning DOC staff reported that Scharbert, 28, from Munich, was waiting for a bus out of Franz Josef.
Police nabbed him as he was getting on the bus and he was arrested and ordered to clean up his graffiti, under DOC supervision.
Gurney said it took Scharbert 1 1/2 days to clean up his handiwork, during which he received many reprimands from other visitors.
Guides chipped off the graffiti on the glacier with ice axes.
DOC was satisfied with his repair job, meaning he escaped a wilful damage charge.
