❄️ Garden of Eden Ice Plateau

The Garden of Eden Ice Plateau is a large ice field on the western side of New Zealand's Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. At over 9 km (5.6 mi) long, the Garden of Eden is one of the largest ice fields in New Zealand, along with the equally-sized Garden of Allah Ice Field which sits just to the north. The ice field is one of many geographic features in the area between the main divide of the Southern Alps and the Adams Range which share biblical names, a convention first established by the earliest explorers to the area. The Garden's remote location and difficult conditions make research difficult, especially with restrictions on helicopter landings imposed through the designation of the area as Adams Wilderness Area in 2003. Despite this, the ice plateau has been a popular destination for tramping groups for over 80 years, with access routes from both coasts and easily reachable areas once on the plateau itself.