Explore the Blue Lakes at Aoraki
Just above the Tasman Valley floor, the Blue Lakes Track in the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park leads to a series of small tarns as a short side trip from the Tasman Lake Track. This short, easy walk offers a close look at the dramatic changes in a glacial valley, where retreating ice has left behind lakes often dotted with icebergs in Winter.
The 40-minute return walk climbs the Tasman Glacier moraine wall on the Tasman Lake Track partway, with a turn off to the Blue Lakes. The lakes were originally named for their vivid blue colour when first seen by Europeans. However, they are no longer blue, having turned bright green due to a shift from glacial meltwater, rich in glacial rock flour particles, by warmer rainwater, which fosters the growth of green algae, as the Tasman Glacier has receded.
Continuing on the main track provides one of the best places to see icebergs that calve from the Tasman Glacier, about 5 km north of the moraine wall.
Getting There
Drive 7 km up Tasman Valley Road from Mt Cook Village to the Tasman Lake car park. The track is a short return climb from there.
From the same car park, you can also start the Tasman Glacier View and Tasman River walks, or join a guided boat tour on the terminal lake.
