When I first spotted the tarns it was a nice sunny day in the hills above the Cobb Valley. The small patch of beech trees and views in every direction looked like the perfect spot to set up camp. Fast forward 3 years and even though the forecast wasn’t great I still held out hope that the cloud would burn off and we’d get a few good views out over the mountains.
Our walk started out nice enough, it was warm and sunny at the carpark with tons of birdlife to keep us occupied as we made our way up the track. The big highlight was seeing a lone Yellow Crowned Parakeet on the bush line. Usually I only hear parakeets from a distance or catch a glimpse as they fly away. This fella decided we were interesting enough and hung around while I snapped a few photos.
We stopped for lunch at the hut, as we ate our food the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly. Undeterred we started bush bashing / tussock bashing our way to the tarns. Choosing what looked like a nice sidle with no elevation loss proved to be a mistake. Although we lost no elevation we spent a lot of time in thick bog!
Arriving at the tarns we found an awesome sheltered tent site amongst the trees, complete with stone seating and a fireplace. With the temperature still dropping we made a fire and decided to have an early dinner. Louise didn’t know it at the time but I’d brought some prototypes for us to try for dinner. Luckily for us they were winners and they proved to be a hit with the taste buds.
With the mist turning to steady rain overnight there was no rush to get out of the sleeping bag in the morning. Once the urge to pee got the better of us we packed up and made our way back along the ridge above the tarns. Despite adding a few hundred meters of elevation gain and loss the ground was a lot easier to walk on. Arriving back at the hut for brunch we chowed down on a meal and watched the fog lift and the sun came out – almost the exact opposite of what happened to us in the hut the day before!
