A GERMAN tourist has spent a day and a half chipping spraypaint off a world famous glacier after he was caught red-handed defacing the natural wonder.

Police in New Zealand said English tourists photographed 28-year-old Munich man Jan Philip Scharbert as he tagged rock walls and even the ice at Franz Josef Glacier on the South Island's west coast last Thursday.

Constable Paul Gurney said Scharbert was caught as he boarded a bus out of town the next day.

He was arrested and ordered to clean up his graffiti, the stuff.co.nz news website reported.

Mr Gurney said it took Scharbert a day and a half to clean up his handiwork, during which time he was abused by passing glacier guides and tourists.

Police said the Department of Conservation was satisfied with his repair job and he escaped a wilful damage charge and left Franz Josef "in one piece".