YHA Mt. Cook South Island

Despite going to bed quite early, we didn't feel refreshed at all the next morning. It must have been the extremely soft matress which made you "jump" if the other half moved ... ;) ... On a brighter note, we were awaken by "live music" coming from the nearby park where bands were playing bagpipes. After a cuppa, we checked out and cruised along the scenic route 72 from Christchurch to Methven, close to Mount Hutt. The weather was just perfect and our tiredness was overriden by the beautiful ...

Armed with our new winter wardrobe we left for Mt Cook National Park. Along the way we stopped at Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukakiand were amazed at how brilliantly turquoise the water was. We read that the colour was due to "rock flour" sediment in the water. This sediment was gorged out by a stoney bottomed glacier moving across the land's surface. This sediment gives the water a milky quality and refracts the sunlight- giving the water a brilliant colour. The rest of the drive to the National P...

Exhausted from the climb to Mount Roy, I drove 2.5 hours to the remote Mount Cook village. The road was beautiful and you could see Mount Cook from almost 100km away. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in all Australasia continent - 3754m high. The village is in the valley just beside the mountain with a spectacular view of the mountains & glaciers around. I slept at the only backpackers lodge there and met all Israelis there right away (there were 5 of us). I convinced all of them to joi...

Entering Mt Cook national park, passing the multitude of hydroelectric dams, salmon farms and snow tipped peaks gave us pause to contemplate just how bloody amazing the scenery in this country is. Many scenes from the lord of the rings movies were shot here in MacKenzie country and its easy to see why. Our YHA was cosy, warm and the staff really friendly and we unpacked and geared up for a hike up to Kea point with views of Mt Cook, Mount Sefton and the Muller Glacier. Walking through the sno...

Kia Ora, von Christchurch bin ich nach Mt. Cook gefahren, mit 3755m der hoechste Berg Neuseelands (und hoeher als jeder Berg in Australien). Am Morgen war es noch sehr frisch und regnerisch, ein Suedwind hat noch einmal kurz den Winter gebracht und die Schneegrenze an der Ostkueste auf 400m abgesenkt. Aber gluecklicherweise wurde das Wetter zum Mount Cook hin immer besser. Mt. Cook wird von den Maoris Aoraki genannt, "Cloud-Pierce", "Wolkenstecher", weil er meist in den Wolken ist. Die vorher...

Hello Hello Hello from the South Island of New Zealand!! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my blog and look at my pictures.... I hope you are enjoying the adventures as much as I am :) (and i love you're comments...keep them coming!!!) If you haven't already done so, take a look at my dolphin swimming video - it was unreal!! I have also uploaded skydiving photos - enjoy :) I have so much to tell you....... so here we go!! We left the beautiful little city of Kaikoura and drove...

I got up late and didn't have time to do anything really except try to get some lunch. I ended up getting takeaway from the Jade Restaurant. The bus got there on time and I checked in with the bus driver. I had about 10 mins to finish my takeaway noodles which wasn't a problem. They weren't especially good. I remember buying noodles for 1/6 the price that tasted much better and were steaming hot. Ah Asia, I really miss the food (and the coconuts). Anyway, I get to Mt. Cook and check into the ...

Today we drove over to Mt Cook - the highest peak in New Zealand. We went on the Hooker falls walk to get some great views of Mt Cook, as well as Mt Muellar and glaciers. The walk was really pretty with different views around each corner. When we got up to the Hooker glacier lake (which had mini icebergs in!) we got some amazing views of Mt Cook, and then someone pointed out this face on the side of the mountain - it was so clear, and as with these things, once you see it you cant not see it!...

Twizel (pronounced to rime with bridle and not as I feel it should be like a sort of rotation) - Mt Cook 63km, 15km/hr Today was sunny and clear again, the perfect weather for cycling towards the snow capped peaks of the southern alps, even the post lunch headwind did little to dampen my spirits. I arrived in time to wonder around the village, checking out the great views and the expensive Hermitage hotel where a spare $1,000 a blown a night and I almost never think this about posh places but...