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Published: December 20th 2010
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Lake Pukaki and Mt Cook
It's up there - if you want to see what it looks like, look up my blog from five years ago ;) Hmm...it's pouring properly today.
I think time to find some good coffee and perhaps be a tourist for the day. How dull.
~~~
And so, after a cup of coffee the sun was out again in Wanaka but the mountains in the distance were not really pushing the cloud high enough. However, I was beginning to wonder if I should head out and give it a go anyway. I popped up to the DOC office to pick up another Mt Aspiring map (grrr) and casually asked if anyone had made it to Liverpool hut last night or was heading up today. Her eyes widened.
"Oooh, no - they can't get in or out of the valley!" chirped the excitable DOC paper-shuffler.
"Oh - is the road flooded?" enquired the interested wanderer.
"Well, the fords are a bit deep but it's not that - people are stuck at Aspiring hut - the second creek on the way out is running fast and the water is waist deep so they're having to spend another night out there." Aspiring is on the floor of the valley but there are a couple of creek crossings on the way out.
"Ah, I
Aoraki in all her glory
The Maori name for Mt Cook means cloud-piercer - she appears to have burst this one completely and it was full of water...
(not sure where the owners of the camper are hiding but it's not going anywhere in a hurry) see..." said the gloomy traveller. Sometimes, I hate having made the right decision. I walked back out into the glaring sunshine and looked away to the horizon to the hills. It seemed bizarre to be turning my back on a walk when I was stood in sunshine. There is lots and lots of rain forecast for the next two days or so but the biggest mass of it isn't here yet.
So I got in the car and decided I would try Mt Cook. I'd already looked at the forecast and it said "rain" (I could almost hear the site say "duuh - what did you expect?" afterwards when I looked it up) but I thought I'd give it a chance. I love Mt Cook and I didn't think I was going to get to see it this trip so a chance to have an opportunity as opposed to a completely wasted day.
And so I drove on for the 200km to Mt Cook with a bank of impressive clouds creeping closer and closer from the west and glorious sunshine and blue sky to the east. By the time I reached the blue lake (Lake Pukaki - the one I captured with its master from the plane), there were near-surfable waves in the (normally still) lake and nothing but a wall of rain where Mt Cook stands.
Despite this, I drove on into fiercely impressive rain and arrived at a wind and rain battered Mt Cook village. There is nothing but water here (well, not true - there is snow up in the mountains, but that can't be seen at the moment). The rain is falling (nay - being driven to earth) so hard that I was soaked through in the 5 seconds it took to jump out of the car and run into the coffee shop. Deciding this was good writing weather, I've found a wee room in the (new) Mt Cook backpackers and am camped in the dry with a glorious view of the mountain out the front (see photo with broken-down camper in the foreground).
There is a small pack of others holed up here and there is a "staff party" happening in the wee alpine bar this evening so that could get messy. However, unless the rain eases off at all, I now have an afternoon of proper holiday passtimes like reading, writing, dreaming, scheming, etc.
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Rob
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Snow again
Looks like the fog came down as well. A bit like here really... Except that we've got snow REAL MANLY SNOW! Eat your heart out :-) btw, Annie does go out and talk to your car. It says its very lonely now, so I'll go and start it up today so that it doesn't feel too neglected...