Mt Cook

Trip Start Sep 12, 2005
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Trip End Aug 15, 2006


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Flag of New Zealand  ,
Thursday, April 27, 2006

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 Park was amazing. There was another beautiful sight around every corner.

Mt Cook is 3755m and is the highest peak in Austalasia. It is known to the Maoris as Aoraki (cloud piercer) We checked into a great backpackers in Mt Cook village which was more like a ski lodge in the French Alps rather than a hostel. That night we watched videos in front of a log fire which was a welcomed change from sleeping in the car. The next morning we were up early and headed out on our 4 hour hike through the Hooker Valley. It was like stepping into a winter wonderland with the snow-capped mountains and the glaciers. We walked up the Hooker Valley crossing a couple of swing bridges along the way. When we reached the terminus of the Hooker Glacier we stopped and had some lunch while watching slabs of ice drop off the glacier into the river below. That evening we reluctantly left Mt Cook for Queenstown. We could have stayed here much longer but we have to keep moving because there is just so much more to see. New Zealand is definitely our favourite country so far, the landscape is so diverse and beautiful and there is so much to see and do.
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