Kayak — INSPIRATION — New zealand uncovered

It was a bit of a surreal experience gliding past giant chunks of ice displaced in the middle of an alpine lake. But I supposed that had been my morning so far beginning from the moment I had peeked out of my lodge room window and seen rabbits bounding down the lane. Now just a few hours later I was sat in a kayak gently paddling out across a proglacial lake. Less than 40 years ago Tasman Terminal Lake as it is now known hadn’t even existed. It was created when the Tasman Glacier slowly retreated leaving behind a few small ponds that by 1990 had become the ever-expanding lake found here today. My guide informed me that the water was as pure as the ice that created it but murky in colour due to fine glacial rock deposits. As I looked to the far side of the lake I could see I solid wall of ice – in fact I soon discovered that this was the largest ice structure to be found in all off New Zealand. The Tasman Glacier is about 23 km in length and 2 km in width – a quite literal frozen monster of ice. It paints a far from glamourous setting in terms of picturesque vistas, as is the usual norm in New Zealand, with the rough dark glacial rock fall creating a rubble strewn back-drop, yet there was a sense still of intrigue here, a place of mystery and fascination. The splash of colour in this visual grey glacial wasteland emerged from the blue-whiteness of the huge chunks of ice. This ice, estimated to be about 400 years old, broke away from the apron of the glacier and gradually floated across the lake. All around my kayak as I propelled myself about drifted much smaller fragmented pieces of ice particle, as clear as glass, that I was able to scoop up from out of the water to touch and taste. As I sat in silence contemplating the sheer majesty all around me the only noticeable sound was the ripple of my paddle across the surface of the water - even on a dreary day the scene was incredibly atmospheric. I have certainly never experienced anything quite like it.