New Zealand

This short steady climb up a now bush-covered ice-scraped rock offers the most impressive views of the glacier and the Waiho River.
Information panels at the viewpoint show dramatic photos of the glacial retreat, making it one of the best places to appreciate the power of the glacier.
Sentinel Rock emerged from beneath the glacier in 1865 and is an example of how the glacial ice ground the hard schist bedrock into a Roche moutonnee or ‘rock sheep’.
Since 1909 the glacier has retreated over 3 km and plants have progressively colonised where a veneer of rubble has been dumped over bedrock in the valley.

Easy

2.9 km return

1 hr

Tasman Lake

Icebergs can usually be seen floating in the lake in summer and in winter, the lake freezes over. The track leads through the old terminal moraines of the glacier to the lakeside boat ramp and you can see good examples of plant succession along the route. Tasman Lake is a relatively recent addition to the scene, starting its formation in 1974 and growing steadily since then. The large terminal moraines mark the foot of the Tasman Glacier at the time of the lake’s formation and are a sobering reminder of the glacier’s retreat.

Medium

85 km one-way

5 days

The Old Ghost Road

This is an excellent five day walk in the north-west of the South Island. track is very well maintained, huts are very well managed and have all you need for cooking, eating. I have done the Routeburn and would say this surpasses it easily for range of scenery, continually interesting walking, facilities etc. Only thing I would say is bring a lot of repellent. the sand flies are bad!
While it is also a cycle trail, there was very little evidence of bikes as we walked. Hardly met anyone on the trail, in fact, but lots of good company in the huts at the end of the day. I think this may become one of the must do walks of NZ as it becomes better known.

Easy

1.4 km return

1 hr

Treetop Walkway

A treetop walkway that takes you 30m up into the canopy and includes a cantilever and 47m tower that provides a spectacular vista of the surrounding mountains, lakes and forest.

Medium

16 km

8 hrs

Welcome Flat

An interesting walk along the Karangarua and Copland Rivers. the walk is the western section of the Copland Pass track that is an alpine pass that must be completed by competent alpine hikers, or by hiring a guide out of Mt Cook Village. <br />The walk is reasonably easy with only about 600m elevation gained, though there are a number of river crossings all of which have some form of bridge. the best part about Welcome Flat is at the hut there are thermal pools which have been terraced all with different temperature pools.<br />The hut itself is also rather unique being one of only a few that are 2 storey, with the communal cooking and eating area downstairs and sleeping upstairs. During the peak tramping season the hut is manned by a DOC ranger which is a volunteer service, and I think it would be an awesome job spending a couple of months in this beautiful part of the world.

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