Sunset, Mount Cook, River Braids 1197, Lake Pukaki

• Photographer
  Satheesh Nair

This image was taken from a helicopter. Lake Pukaki is the largest lake in the area, and it proudly shows off New Zealand’s tallest peak, Aoraki/ Mount Cook, from the many lookout points around its shores. The water colour of the lake is a bright turquoise due to glacial flour, made from extremely fine rock particles that have come from the surrounding glaciers. The lake is fed at its northern end by the braided Tasman River, which has its source in the Hooker and Tasman Glacier. When the sun hits the surface of the lake, it reflects off the particles transforming it to a brilliant blue.