Mount Cook/Aokora

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2nd June 2009

This was most definitely a walking section of our trip. First up was a walk up the Hooker Valley to the terminal lake of the Hooker Glacier. The beginning of the walk took us to an Alpine Memorial for those that lost their life climbing the peaks around Mount Cook. It put us off trying to scale the mountain. The walk took over swing bridges and offered amazing views of the the peak of Mount Cook. To be honest writing about it doesn't really do it justice, just take a look at the pictures and imagine being in our shoes. We had lunch at the terminal face, where the lake was mostly frozen, and sat in awe of the might Mount Cook in front. On the way back we saw things that we hadn't seen on the way to the terminal lake, such as waterfalls flowing from the mountains into the river below. The sun had rapidly fallen behind the mountains and consequently it got quite nippy so when we made it back to Mount Cook village we stopped at the hermitage for a nice cup of tea. Whilst we sipped the warming brew we watched the sunset behind the mountains.

3rd June 2009

Today started with another walk up the Tasmen Valley. The walk was not as spectacular as yesterday but no less impressive. On the way to the Tasman Glacial lake we stopped off at the Blue Lakes which were more green than blue in our opinion. They were completely frozen over and air was trying to escape from underneath the ice making a really strange noise (a cross between a whistle and a gun being fired), we originally thought it was a bird. Reaching the glacial lake it was hard to see the glacier itself as it was covered in debris due to the fact it is melting from the top down. After the walk we took a short drive to Lake Tekapo which in turn had its own stunning views. We had lunch by the lake and with our bellies full headed to Kaikoura, another long drive but, as always seems to be the case in NZ, the views along the way were stunning. By the time we arrived in Kaikoura everywhere was shut so we ended up having a pub dinner.
Moved on to Kaikoura

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