Today we had an incredible hike up to Sealy Tarn for a great view of Aoraki/Mt Cook. The mountain is also part of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage site
The 3.4 mile round trip trail started off pretty easy, but after about 1/2 a mile went straight up (at around 1500' per mile).
Along the trail we saw a bellbird, the largest buttercup flower in the world, and a nice waterfall.
At the top the views of the valley and mountains were incredible.
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| We started in the lower left parking lot. Hotel is on the middle right. Aoraki/Mt Cook is behind me. |
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| Trail to Mueller hut up Mt Ollivier |
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Lenticular cloud over Mt Stevenson
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| Aoraki/Mt Cook |
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| The Footstool mountain |
Two glaciers came together so the moraine(gravel wall at back of front lake) is a terminal moraine for the Hooker glacier in front of us (behind far lake) and a lateral moraine for the Mueller glacier out of site to the left of the photo. The lakes are brown due to the rain.
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| Moraine wall above lake. Aoraki/Mt Cook in the far back. |
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| Close up of Hooker glacier |
After a careful walk down, our fantastic guides cooked up a Kiwi lunch of fried onions and sausages.
In the afternoon we explored the visitor center and had a great dinner in the Panorama room at the hotel.
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