The Tasman Glacier is the longest glacier in New Zealand at 29km. At its widest it is 4 km wide and 600 metres deep. The Tasman Glacier is only accessible from the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.

It flows south and east towards the Mackenzie Basin from the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island.

The glacier has retreated about 180 metres a year on average since the 1990s and the glacier is now in a period of faster retreat where the rate of retreat is calculated to be between 477m and 822m each year.

It is estimated that the Tasman Glacier will eventually disappear.

The terminal Tasman Lake will reach a maximum size in 10 to 19 years time. In 1973 Tasman Glacier had no terminal lake and by 2009 Tasman Lake was 7,5 km long, 2km wide and 245m deep.

No two days are the same for the glacier. The dynamics of the Tasman glacial lake environment ensure that every time you visit the Mount Cook National Park it will be different.

Very few glaciers terminate into lakes and even fewer are readily accessible to travellers by boat.

Watch and listen to the ice melting before your eyes in this tranquil glacial lake nestled in the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

Discover spectacular ice formations which have calved into the murky waters of Lake Tasman.

Stop, to touch and taste 500 year old ice and, on occasion, a walk on an iceberg provides a new and exciting experience for all.

You won’t revel in serenity for long, as all senses are jolted back to reality as rockfall crashes down the iceface above.

Holding 500 year old ice in your hand – if you dare, allows rapid learning and understanding of how the glacier makes its way on the long journey down the valley, eventually arriving at Lake Tasman in the form of a beautiful iceberg.

This is a baby iceberg in pure blue colour, the tour leader said that we are very very lucky to see this new piece of iceberg on that day, and after one hour, it will be turned to white.

Guides give a comprehensive commentary on the mechanics of the Tasman Glacier, disclosing facets of glaciation, terminal lake formation, plate tectonics, local and climbing history.

The Glacier Explorers experience is an educational tour suited to all ages and is executed to the highest safety standards.

Fantastic photographic opportunities are abundant. The grandeur of New Zealand’s most spectacular alpine destination will leave an impression which is difficult to describe and impossible to forget!