Lake Mavis , Tarn Col

With a mixed weather forecast an initial Lake Sally/Franklin attempt was modified to a very scenic trip up the Mingha, camping at Lake Mavis and Tarn Col before heading out the Edwards valley. This time of year was ideal for seeing the lush Ranunculus lyalli (Mt Cook Buttercup) and a wide variety of Celmisia in bloom. In the thick, steep vegetation below Tarn col we found a pair of titanium spectacles which we inferred by their unusual brand to belong to a visitor from Germany that we'd seen in the recent Edwards Hut book entries, and several days later returned these to him (on Christmas eve) just prior to his flight home to Germany. For future reference I have included photos of the bluffs connecting the main Tarn NorthEast and below Mt Oates to the area of Lake Sally, which appears to have an easily negotiable traverse between the two. Our route from Lake Mavis to Tarahauna Pass was different from some previously found online in that we crossed the range at at 1860m, 500m North of the obvious col immediately North of .1978 in order to avoid a steep snow slope, and this route lead us to what seems to be a much easier crossing point free of snow.