The Dart Glacier with Mt Edward behind, Plunket Dome in the foreground leading up to Mt Liverpool on right. The steep rocky basin in the forground was the scene of a crash in the early 1950's. A Harvard piloted by Chris Johnson, ex Battle of Britain and another pilot took a swing into the basin to look for four trampers who were missing, latter found dead a few miles away having slipped on wet tussock on the Dart Saddle. A downdraft smacked the plane into rocks, which amazingly lodged in the rocks and did not fall 3000ft into the valley. Lt Bills was able to scramble down. A rescue party found Johnson dead.

North-East of Aspiring, The Wilkin Valley
The Wilkin is one of the prettiest of valleys with narrow grassy flats overlooked by peaks running up to 8000ft.

Mt Castor, one of the twin peaks Castor and Pollux. Next to the south is Mt Ragan with steep, bare (in summer) rock slabs up which Charlie ( Mr Explorer) Douglas walked in stocking feet in abouut 1896, to get a view of Aspiring when mapping the Waiototo Valley.

Mt Aeolus (Oblong)
Aeolus over looks the Jumboland Flats in the upper Wilkin.

Mt Alba
This lies NE of Pollux and overlooks the Siberian Valley which flows through a VERY narrow gorge into the Wilkin. It was given this name by deer cullers who foud it a cold place in winter. Now Paul Cooper of Makarora has a strip there and flies in tourists in his Cessna 180. One has to keep low in the gorge on approach. I don't dare land, the strip is short and one cannot put a Zodiac down short and hard like you can a C180.

The South Fiord of Lake Te Anau as seen from the Kepler Track - a reminder that in Fiordland one can have snow at any time of the year!

Why you should always be prepared when tramping (hiking) in NZ. You can get hit by snowballs in the middle of summer! (14th of December). This is southern Beech forest, (Nothofagus menzieseii)

The Milford Track - "The Finest Walk in the World"