A really spectacular (and steep) alpine walk in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park to two excellent vantage points: first to the attractive Sealy Tarns at 1300m, and then for the energetic continue on up the hill towards Mueller Hut onto a spur at about 1740m of elevation. There are views of Mt Sefton (3151m), NZ’s highest peak Aoraki/Mt Cook (3755m), various glaciers and glacier lakes, and the Hooker River Valley 1000m below. Highly recommended.
The climbing is steep but if you like that kind of thing then the only problem will be the long stream of slow walkers on their way to Mueller Hut carrying heavy packs. Sealy Tarns is a good turnaround point for those with just moderate fitness, but if you can make it then I strongly recommend you keep going for views over the other side of the Sealy Range. (This would be almost the same distance again, but perhaps not quite as steep). Track notes at the end.
Sealy Tarns & beyond to ~1740m: The Scenery
My photography was fairly mediocre, but the area is so beautiful and dramatic that it still looks good. I will have to get over there again and take some more pictures.
Track Notes
The track to Sealy Tarns is constructed with steps (2200 of them apparently). After that I seem to remember that the route was marked by poles, but not hard to navigate anyway. You could walk all the way to Mueller Hut, but I don’t think it would add all that much extra value scenery wise. The Sealy Tarns Track branches off the Kea Point Track, which starts either near the Aoraki Mt Cook Visitor Centre, or for a shorter version, the White Horse Hill Campground (in the map below). That is also the start of the excellent and easier going Hooker Valley Track.
