ONE OF THE BEST VIEWS IN MT COOK NATIONAL PARK
24 JANUARY 2024
No Pain, No Gain
The Red Tarns track has been on my list of walks to do for a year now and we finally got to do it... yipeeeee! It's situated in the Mt Cook National Park in Canterbury, New Zealand and if you don't already know, the park is one of the most BEAUTIFUL places in New Zealand (and the world). It's home to the Southern Alps, the world's only alpine parrots - kea, and stunning glacier lakes that are filled with icebergs, even in summer!
The track starts at the public shelter on Bowen Drive and the first part of the track is flat, before crossing a bridge over the Black Birch Stream. Don't be fooled into thinking that there are more flat parts... because that's it folks! From the bridge, it's a 300m elevation gain with stairs! But if Arabella and Sienna can do it, then pretty much anyone with a good walking ability can. I was actually surprised that our legs weren't sore at all after doing the hike... usually with stairs I'll be feeling it the next day but there was nothing (what a relief).
I love how the views are magnificent, right at the beginning of the track. The Southern Alps are RIGHT THERE and they have snow on them all year around, so it was just awesome to look around and see all the cookie and cream mountains from the get-go (snow and rock). I'm sure it would look pretty impressive in winter when the park is completely blanketed in white snow (hopefully not yellow).
The track starts at the public shelter on Bowen Drive and the first part of the track is flat, before crossing a bridge over the Black Birch Stream. Don't be fooled into thinking that there are more flat parts... because that's it folks! From the bridge, it's a 300m elevation gain with stairs! But if Arabella and Sienna can do it, then pretty much anyone with a good walking ability can. I was actually surprised that our legs weren't sore at all after doing the hike... usually with stairs I'll be feeling it the next day but there was nothing (what a relief).
I love how the views are magnificent, right at the beginning of the track. The Southern Alps are RIGHT THERE and they have snow on them all year around, so it was just awesome to look around and see all the cookie and cream mountains from the get-go (snow and rock). I'm sure it would look pretty impressive in winter when the park is completely blanketed in white snow (hopefully not yellow).
Let's Go Hiking On The Hottest Day Of The Year (Said No One Ever)
We somehow managed to pick THE hottest day of the year to do it, so it wasn't that easy hiking up over an hour of stairs. We all struggled in the heat and had to stop in the shade as much as possible and weirdly enough, our thighs weren't sore heading up the stairs - I'm guessing it's all the muscle we have built up on the hikes we have done lately (like the Mt John Track and the Cowans Hill Track in Tekapo)
When you're hiking with kids, it's really important to take breaks if they are struggling a lot. You have to remember that they're just little and some walks can be a bit boring for them and at the end of the day, they're just kids and they are doing their best. I took my ipod and headphones as an emergency entertainment back up, as I do on long hikes, and this helped keep the kids occupied for a bit.
At one point along the track, I found a little 'cave' and I sat in there for some shade. I thought it would make a cool photo with the cave framing the view, so I put my phone camera on 0.5 zoom and snapped away.
I loved looking across at the valleys with rivers and rocks making their way down and there were even some with huge slabs of ice wedged in the valley, above the river. I couldn't understand how we were at a higher altitude than these ice slabs, yet it was so hot and they hadn't melted. I can only assume they fell off the mountain and are slowly making their way down and will eventually melt.
Every corner on this track gave the same view, but at the same time, seemed to give a completely different view or perspective, so I was taking soooo many photos and videos - I couldn't get enough of this view! I wish it wasn't so hot so that we weren't rushing to get to the summit, so I could have taken more time with my photos.
When you're hiking with kids, it's really important to take breaks if they are struggling a lot. You have to remember that they're just little and some walks can be a bit boring for them and at the end of the day, they're just kids and they are doing their best. I took my ipod and headphones as an emergency entertainment back up, as I do on long hikes, and this helped keep the kids occupied for a bit.
At one point along the track, I found a little 'cave' and I sat in there for some shade. I thought it would make a cool photo with the cave framing the view, so I put my phone camera on 0.5 zoom and snapped away.
I loved looking across at the valleys with rivers and rocks making their way down and there were even some with huge slabs of ice wedged in the valley, above the river. I couldn't understand how we were at a higher altitude than these ice slabs, yet it was so hot and they hadn't melted. I can only assume they fell off the mountain and are slowly making their way down and will eventually melt.
Every corner on this track gave the same view, but at the same time, seemed to give a completely different view or perspective, so I was taking soooo many photos and videos - I couldn't get enough of this view! I wish it wasn't so hot so that we weren't rushing to get to the summit, so I could have taken more time with my photos.
Bella cooling off in a stream
This is the 'hardest' part of the track
Looking across to the Hooker River
A Million Dollar View
It was such a relief to get to the top after climbing over an hour of stairs in the intense heat! The view is absolutely stunning, the higher you go, and you can see all across the national park including the Hermitage Hotel (our fav hotel in NZ with the most INSANE views!), Mt Cook Village, White Horse Hill campsite, Muller Lake (which you get an even better view from on the Kea Point Track), the swing bridges on the Hooker Valley Track and of course, the incredible Mt Cook, which is NZ's highest mountain.
From the top, it's amazing to see how far we've come and hard to believe we really did hike all that way up! There is a bench seat after the last stair, perfectly situated to enjoy the incredible views which anyone totally deserves after all those stairs.
The main attraction at the top (aside from the amaaaazing view) are the red tarns. A tarn is a small, alpine lake and the ones here are named the red tarns, due to the red pond weed that grows in them. The lake water is crystal clear and on a still day, Mt Cook's reflection shows in the tarn. We had some wind hiking up (the real wind, not the stinky kind that comes out of you after eating too many beans!) and I was a bit disappointed as I thought that the lakes wouldn't be still, but it seemed to be a sheltered area and they were still, yay! In winter, the tarns can freeze over when it gets too chilly, but should be fine the rest of the year. There was no chance of that happening as I swear it was over 30 deg C when we went! But hey, we went back to Mt Cook 2 days later to do the Tasman Glacier Lookout track and the Tasman Lake track, it was only 4 deg C! This is the weather in NZ.... unpredictable, annoying and you never know what to wear, so you have to plan for all weather types.
There is a 200m track around the red tarns (don't worry, it's a flat boardwalk track!) and this is worth walking around to see the beautiful reflection of Mt Cook and it's just a nice walk in general. I went a bit off road and tried to climb the rockfall at the back of the tarns because I thought I'd get a better view of the mountains in the water, but I realised the lower I was, the more I saw.
We found a bench seat by the tarns and had lunch here, took some photos and enjoyed resting our little legs before we set off back down the gaziiiillion stairs. It was a good place to rest and we were surprised at how many people came walking by - it was a popular spot!
On the way back down, we stopped in the shade as much as we could. It took us 40-minutes to get back down but it would have been quicker if it wasn't so hot! We found a couple of streams that we put our hands in to cool off, as it was nice and cool. Probably an ideal spot to refill the drink bottle but that's an each to their own scenario - we ate chunks of ice from the icebergs in the Hooker Lake, on the Hooker Valley Track, but not everyone is comfortable drinking water straight from natural water source.
After our hike, getting in the car and taking off our shoes and putting the aircon on was THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD! We went to the Hermitage Hotel for something to eat and then we stopped at the NZ Alpine Lavender Farm for some ice cream (so well deserved). They have the most delicious ice cream and our favourite is the lavender and honeycomb, with bee pollen. The farm is on the main highway along Lake Pukaki and is so worth stopping at in summer for an ice cream and to see the beautiful purple lavender in bloom.
From the top, it's amazing to see how far we've come and hard to believe we really did hike all that way up! There is a bench seat after the last stair, perfectly situated to enjoy the incredible views which anyone totally deserves after all those stairs.
The main attraction at the top (aside from the amaaaazing view) are the red tarns. A tarn is a small, alpine lake and the ones here are named the red tarns, due to the red pond weed that grows in them. The lake water is crystal clear and on a still day, Mt Cook's reflection shows in the tarn. We had some wind hiking up (the real wind, not the stinky kind that comes out of you after eating too many beans!) and I was a bit disappointed as I thought that the lakes wouldn't be still, but it seemed to be a sheltered area and they were still, yay! In winter, the tarns can freeze over when it gets too chilly, but should be fine the rest of the year. There was no chance of that happening as I swear it was over 30 deg C when we went! But hey, we went back to Mt Cook 2 days later to do the Tasman Glacier Lookout track and the Tasman Lake track, it was only 4 deg C! This is the weather in NZ.... unpredictable, annoying and you never know what to wear, so you have to plan for all weather types.
There is a 200m track around the red tarns (don't worry, it's a flat boardwalk track!) and this is worth walking around to see the beautiful reflection of Mt Cook and it's just a nice walk in general. I went a bit off road and tried to climb the rockfall at the back of the tarns because I thought I'd get a better view of the mountains in the water, but I realised the lower I was, the more I saw.
We found a bench seat by the tarns and had lunch here, took some photos and enjoyed resting our little legs before we set off back down the gaziiiillion stairs. It was a good place to rest and we were surprised at how many people came walking by - it was a popular spot!
On the way back down, we stopped in the shade as much as we could. It took us 40-minutes to get back down but it would have been quicker if it wasn't so hot! We found a couple of streams that we put our hands in to cool off, as it was nice and cool. Probably an ideal spot to refill the drink bottle but that's an each to their own scenario - we ate chunks of ice from the icebergs in the Hooker Lake, on the Hooker Valley Track, but not everyone is comfortable drinking water straight from natural water source.
After our hike, getting in the car and taking off our shoes and putting the aircon on was THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD! We went to the Hermitage Hotel for something to eat and then we stopped at the NZ Alpine Lavender Farm for some ice cream (so well deserved). They have the most delicious ice cream and our favourite is the lavender and honeycomb, with bee pollen. The farm is on the main highway along Lake Pukaki and is so worth stopping at in summer for an ice cream and to see the beautiful purple lavender in bloom.
Know Before You Go
- The track takes 2 hours return but we took a little longer due to the extreme heat and little legs not wanting to do more stairs
- The track is mostly stairs and a couple of places is stone that you need to do gentle rock climbing on (we saw a couple in their 70s manage just fine!)
- There is a 300m elevation gain
- There are 2 bench seats at the top
- The tarns can freeze over in winter, so the reflection may not show. Same with the wind, if it's too windy then you won't get a clear reflection
- There is a 200m flat, boardwalk track around the red tarns once the stairs have finished, that's worth a wander along
- There are toilets at the public shelter, where the track starts
- There is little shade on the track (we found small patches), so it's a good track to do in the morning or evening in summer and any time other during the year shouldn't be too bad
- This track could be a little more challenging in winter with snow and ice, but it's still possible (lots of people still do it)
- The weather can change rapidly in Mt Cook, so it's always best to be prepared for all weather types
How To Get To The Red Tarns Track In Mt Cook National Park
Conclusion
This is the most underrated track in the Mt Cook National Park (in my opinion) and it offers some of the best views across the park. It's an easier climb than the Sealy Tarns track (which is high on our list to do!) and the Mueller Hut track (this one carries on from the Sealy Tarns track and is also on our list), which also has very similar views.
We love how this is just a 2-hour return hike, yet the views look like those from a hike that takes half a day! The red tarns are really pretty and if you're lucky enough, the wind will be still and you'll get a beautiful reflection of Mt Cook in the water.
We love how this is just a 2-hour return hike, yet the views look like those from a hike that takes half a day! The red tarns are really pretty and if you're lucky enough, the wind will be still and you'll get a beautiful reflection of Mt Cook in the water.
Gallery of the Red Tarns Track
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
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