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Blogs from Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania
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NZ 6: Driving in a Postcard and Sleeping in a Fridge
Published: May 15th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
April 7th 2013
Dunedin Dunedin or 'Edinburgh of the South' is an easy going city port on the edge of the Otago peninsula. The city is centred around 'The Octagon,' a thriving area with many inviting cafés, bars and restaurants. Not that either of us are experts in Scottish culture, but we didn't really see the apparent striking resemblance to Edinburgh. Venturing into 'The Scottish Souvenir Shop,' Tom had a bit of a 'Daisy moment' and stupidly asked where the link to Scotland originated, only to be met with blank, disbelieving stares. The woman went on to explain that the founders of the city had originated in Scotland before emigrating to NZ. Duuhhhh! We decided to spend a day wandering around the city getting comfy with the Scottish vibe and culturising ourselves. We started with the art gallery....we were ... read more
Mt Sebastopol
Published: March 24th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
March 24th 2013
Long drive to Mt Cook village in the morning. The clouds holding the forecast rain are snagged on the Western Alps (the other side of Copland Pass) so the sky is only spitting a bit for my scamper up Mt Sebastopol for views back to the Tasman and Hooker valleys. The tops of Mt Cook and the surrounding high peaks are in cloud all day but the hike is good nonetheless and the views atmospheric (something to do with the atmosphere above them being very visible today and not at all see-through). Just under 2 hours to the top and less than an hour down makes for tired legs (I met my run-down-the-lower-half-in-10-minutes challenge today) but a quick whizz round to Kea Point below the glaciers is in order. The run back is good but the ... read more
Ball Hut and Return to Wanaka
Published: March 26th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
March 23rd 2013
After packing up we headed on the 4x4 track towards Ball Pass hut. It was great fun in the 4x4 If not rather bumpy going over the boulders. After a while the track ends and you have to walk the remainder which was a fairly easy walk over mixed terrain which took about an hour. The views alongside the track were quite bizarre, almost like the terrain of the moon, grey dust with what looks like craters. In actual fact in was the Tasman Glacier which is covered with layers of rock and deposits – as in places the grey was no longer present and you could see the ice below. We checked out the hut when we reached it – a tiny little hut sleeping three people, and admired the views of Mount Cook, Tasman ... read more
Mueller Hut and Dinner!
Published: March 26th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
March 22nd 2013
The route to Mueller Hut is the only full day hike here in Mount Cook which people can undertake here without a guide and full ice climbing gear. At 1800m the hut is just above the snow line and a great day walk. After little sleep the three of us (that’s right, Dick included) head off bright and early to start the route. The route consist of two main sections – the 2010 steps up the mountain side to ‘Sealy Tarns’ and from there, follow the unmade but marked track up the hillside – overcoming large boulders, grassy slopes and a scree slope to the hut. We made it through the steps to Sealy tarns quickly, all going at our own rate but reconvening every now and again. IT was quite handy the steps up the ... read more
22.02. Mt. Cook
Published: March 12th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
February 22nd 2013
Die Weiterreise von Queenstown in Richtung Norden beginnt heute 8.40 Uhr. Ich sehe einige bekannte Gesichter wieder im Bus von den letzten Reisen. Wir machen einen kurzen Frühstücksstopp und einen kleinen Fotostopp. Das Ziel ist heute aber möglichst schnell nach Mt. Cook zu kommen. Kurz nach zwei erreichen wir unsere heutige Unterkunft. Ich bin mir nicht ganz sicher, ob man es noch Hostel nennen kann, da die gesamte Anlage sehr gut ist. Auch die Zimmer sind super in Ordnung und das Bad ist wie im Hotel. 15 Uhr geht es dann ab zur Wanderung. Nach drei Hängebrücken und einigen Kilometern erreichen wir schließlich einen kleinen See. Dieser schaut etwas verdreckt mit Schlamm aus, sonst aber normal. Ein Blick nach links zum anderen Ende lässt aber ganz neue Einblicke offen. Am anderen Ende ist eine große weiße ... read more
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Mt Cook and Lake Tepako
Published: February 20th 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
February 20th 2013
After leaving Moeraki I travelles to Twizel which is a small town on a lake about an hours drive from Mt Cook. It is a fair sized lake and they were holding rowing trials on it the day I arrived apparently a regatta is due this weekend. Following day I visited Mt Cook and all it's glory, in the information centre they had some photos of people climbing at the beginning of the century it's unbelievable he hat they climber in, in those days. Needless to say the mountain every in the hot summer we are having is still snow capped which makes for some nice photos. The lake as you approach Mt Cook is the most amazing colour of blue I think caused by the minerals in the water. Spent most of the day walking ... read more
New Year's Eve
Published: January 2nd 2013Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
January 2nd 2013
Wanaka to Tekapo and Mount Cook We left early and travelled to Tekapo, the sun shone and the journey was like travelling around the world. We saw landscape that resembled Wales, Scotland, Dorset, Africa , Switzerland, Bahamas so different in two and a half hours driving.Arriving at Tekapo we went to the spa which overlooks the lake. It was relaxing in the sunshine but not quite as big as Hamner and there were no jacuzzi jets. We had lunch in the cafe at Tekapo then drove to Mount Cook taking a road that skirts lake Punakaki. A fabulous drive but as we neared Mount Cook the weather changed and the clouds rolled in above the mountains.Undeterred we continued on and took the track to Mount Tasman. We walked up to a ridge overlooking a glacial lake ... read more
It's getting chilly
Published: May 26th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
May 26th 2012
So... it's me again! I told a bit of a porky in my last blog. I did not in fact hike on Fox Glacier, it was on Franz Josef Glacier. Woops. But it was beautiful, I got the helicopter up to the top of the glacier mid morning and we walked around on the ice with crampons strapped to our boots for a couple of hours before coming back down. We also walked through (or rather slipped through in my case) some ice caves and walked over to the waterfall which is where all the liquid run-off from the Glacier descends the mountain. Included with the hike was a free trip to the local glacial hot pools so I took advantage of that by sitting in a pool that was 36 degrees for most of the ... read more
Christ Church to Mount Cook 2
Published: May 24th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
May 24th 2012
One photo identy correction and a couple of extra photos, as promised. (Short of wifi time last time)... read more
CHRISTCHURCH TO MOUNT COOK
Published: May 20th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
May 20th 2012
CHRISTCHURCH TO MOUNT COOK We have limited WIFI access at the moment so just a few photos. (More to follow later) We had booked a two berth motor-home with shower and toilet, to allow us the flexibility to freedom camp in the wilds, if an opportunity arose. It turned out to be much bigger than I expected, but that just added to the challenge of driving in New Zealand. Our intention was to head south on the flatter east side of the island, and then move across to the more picturesque west. The distant mountains provided a bit of a picturesque backdrop, but other than that, the countryside was flat farmland and realistically had little special to offer in terms of scenery – we could have been in many places in the UK. The offer of ... read more
