Not
having the energy, nor time, to climb the Tasman Glacier - and without the
option to Heli-hike - we opt for a tour of the glacial melt lake which, some
twenty years ago, was non-existent since the glacier itself reached a further
ten kilometres out from its current terminal face.
Our guideds settle us into a tin boat and we head of for the terminus. En
route we're instructed to put our hands in the milky grey water... we discover
that its painful to do so as the temperature on the surface is a mere three
degrees and this descends to just over one degree a few feet below - there's no
way we're going swimming here!
The
lake and glacier are covered in 'moraine' - rocks and dust from previous
advanceds and retreats of the glacier. As a result, the lake and terminal face
look remarkably dirty - a far cry from the pristine ice we expected to see while
here. However, the lake is unique to the country, and sight of overhangs,
icebergs and rocks falling from the top of the glacier as the ice melts is awe
inspiring.
Some of the cracks we see are hundreds of metres long and the sound of
breaking ice as we approach the face with the motor cut is not just
disconcerting, it makes us quite nervous.
Our
tour takes us into a fresh iceberg field - fallen in the last 24 hours - and we
watch as tortured ice shapes rotate to reveal smooth and clear undersides as
their centre of balance shifts. Then we raft up alongside a large chunk
and take a walk on it! The beast we step onto is eighteen months old now - and
still melting.
We see blue ice - ice so compressed that all of the flaws are pressed out -
this ice is thousands of years old, perfect as a refreshing lolly.
A real highlight of our tour - and one of only three glacial lakes world-wide
which can be explored by Joe Public.
