Tarns offer the perfect balance of everything a tired tramper could wish for after a hard day. Besides being convenient supplies of drinking water, they are great camping destinations with flat ground on which to pitch your tent.

Tarns are also more sheltered than a summit and normally offer better views than a valley camp. Tired trampers can cool their feet or, if so inclined, jump in for a skinny dip.

Most importantly, you don’t have to be an expert bushman to find a nice watering hole. Some lonely mountain lakes are easy to reach from nearby tracks.

Give it a try and be a tarn-bagger. Sit back with your feet in the water and enjoy the sunset. The raw beauty of a place where land meets water will put you under its spell.

– Dennis Radermacher

Four tarns to get you started

Hinapouri Tarn, Nelson Lakes National Park

An easy 20min walk from Angelus Hut. Just follow a faint track.

Lewis Pass

Follow Lewis Tops Track for two hours to reach a daisy chain of unnamed tarns.

The Remarkables

Follow Wye Creek Route from the Remarkables Ski Field to reach five tarns in a beautiful alpine basin.

Arthur’s Pass

If you feel more adventurous a trip to Lake Mavis will pose a challenge to your route-finding skills.