Red Tarns, Mt Cook National Park

The Red Tarns, late afternoon as a Nor'west begins to clear over Mt Cook National Park. The Red Tarns are located on a rocky knob known as Sebastapol above Mt Cook village.

There are lots of short walks from the Hermitage (village) which many climbers overlook. A wet day of otherwise miserable weather provided us with a good excuse to explore the Red Tarns, Wakefield Falls and Blue lakes, although some preferred a 10hr epic in the pub. The Hooker valley leads off to the left, while the Mt Cook range (centre) separates it from the Tasman valley. The terminal lake of the Tasman glacier is just visible, poking its head round the corner.

The next day was magnificent weather and we completed the Ball pass trip in a single day, crossing from the Hooker valley into the Tasman just beneath Mt Cook.

  • The Sealy Tarns

    • Mt Cook overview | Back to Jonathan's gallery
    Copyright (c) 1994 Jonathan Carr