Big Bad Mount Cook

Trip Start Jun 14, 2008
1
35
93
Trip End Jun 20, 2009


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of New Zealand  , South Island,
Thursday, November 6, 2008

"We knocked the bastard off". These were the immortal first words from Sir Edmund Hillary when he arrived back to base camp having been the first man, along with Sherpa Tenzing Nording to conquer the mighty Mount Everest.
Next April Mighty Murph and myself will conduct our own Everest conquest, so what better place to get some early mountain practice than the very mountain where Hillary learned his trade.

The beautiful and massive Mount cook is New Zealand's highest mountain and has some excellent hiking trails. We arrived in our van amidst some less than pleasant weather and even a view of the mountain was restricted. We decided we would chance our arm and hang on an extra day hoping that the weather would pick up for a possible hike the next day.

There is a cool Alpine museum at the foot of the mountain so we spent a few hours hiding from the rain in there. They have some excellent Hillary exhibits and a vertigo inducing Planetarium that had Murph leppin out of her seat.

The next day, inspired to the hilt, we woke to splendid sunshine and our gamble had payed off. So up the mountain we headed. The trail we took brought us up the foot of the mountain to the front of a mighty glacier. It was actually quite a comfortable hike with only a mild incline all the way but was definitely worth it for the amazing scenery.

After the hike it was back in the van and off on our merry way to Omaru.  
Slideshow Print this entry Auckland hotels