Mega hiking Mt. Cook

Trip Start Jan 11, 2009
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Trip End Apr 12, 2009


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Flag of New Zealand  , South Island,
Monday, February 2, 2009

In the very early morning, the Kea birds (large parrots) were out begging for their breakfast - it was so load that it was hard to sleep.  B2 got up to watch the sunrise on the mountain peaks on the balcony.  The peaks were still clouded over, but the sun was striking the clouds with an array of bright colors and it made for pretty spectacular scenery.  A2 could barely get her eyes open, but after looking at B2's photos of the sunrise, A2 crawled out of bed to take some herself (note, this is a very rare event).  After that she stumbled back in for a nap and a more reasonable 9:30AM rising.

We spent the rest of the day in Hooper Valley; B2 went off on a very long and steep hike for some great views of Mount Cook.  A2 had to stick to an easy walking trail, but there were still great views of the glaciers from below.  After splitting up in the morning we did a long but easy hike down Hooker Valley which puts you right beneath Mt Cook 1 - sunrise
1 - sunrise
 .  

It is hard to believe that just 10 days ago, we were on the other side of these mountains, right by the sea.  We are only 45KM from the west coast now, but it really does not feel the same at all.  On the other side there is a sub-tropical rain forest with a stormy ocean.  On this side it's dry, over 30 degrees C, windy, treeless.

After a long day of walking B2 was hungry enough to eat a log of sashimi so we drove out of the way from Mt. Cook in order to get more from the salmon farm.  A2 drove like a racecar driver to get there before closing only to find out that they ran out!  However, they were nice enough to make some fresh sashimi just for us.  The fish had been swimming just two hours before being in our mouths.  Now that's fresh! B2 asked if there was a way to train the sashimi to jump from the pond into his mouth, they laughed and kindly told us they would work on it for our third visit.
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