Tasman Glacier

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Tasman Glacier

Haupapa / Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier in New Zealand, and one of several large glaciers which flow south and east towards the Mackenzie Basin from the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island.

At 23.5 kilometres (14.6 mi) in length, Tasman Glacier is still New Zealand's longest glacier, despite shrinking considerably from the 1990s onwards. It is as much as 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide and 600 metres (2,000 ft) thick, and lies entirely within the borders of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.

The glacier covers an area of 101 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and starts at a height of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level. Snowfall during the winter and spring seasons may accumulate up to 50 metres (160 ft). After the summer melt, 7 metres (23 ft) may remain in the high altitude gacier head.

Tasman Glacier has a long history of tourism, with heli skiing tours offered on the upper glacier since the early 1970s. Tasman Glacier's significant ice loss over the past decades has impacted tourism, with an increasing number of crevasses being exposed and not filled in by snow any more, requiring guided tours to avoid these areas, and restricting the heli skiing season to July, August and September.

The proglacial Tasman Lake is a popular destination for boat tours among the icebergs often floating in the lake. Boats are not allowed closer than 1.5 km (0.9 mi) to the 50 m (160 ft) tall terminal face of Tasman Glacier for safety reasons.

The Ball Shelter Track, part of the Ball Hut Route, leads along the western side of the glacier, separated from Tasman Lake by a tall moraine wall until about 6 kilometres in, where it climbs high enough for the view to open up.

Getting There

This tourist attraction is well serviced by public transport including taxis, buses and shuttle.