Blogs from Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

One photo identy correction and a couple of extra photos, as promised. (Short of wifi time last time)... read more

Well the show has moved on and Crowded House packed up and we set out on Sunday 22nd for Mt Cook. After replenishing the stores and using the dump station and refueling at Lake Tekapo we headed north west along the stunning Lake Pukaki which, along with 2 other major lakes in the centre of this area produces hydro electricity. The roads are so good in this part of NZ that it is hard not to speed and we enjoyed great lengths of time with not anotrher car in sight. It is now fairly quiet tourist wise and we have had no trouble getting in any parks. The weather is beautiful, warm during the day but very cold at night and we now have the extra blanket and heater on at night. Approaching Mt Cook was ... read more

8th April ’12 Mt. Cook Another culture shock is the fact that you have to check out of hotels/motels/hostels by 10 am here – we have now to rethink the way we live our days, we are used to staying up until 12 and then getting up when we want and 12pm check outs. Today we head to Mt. Cook the highest mountain in New Zealand and Howard is already past himself with excitement at the prospect of the snow-capped peaks! I expect the camera to take a real hammering!! The drive was lovely, winding through valleys and mountains, past beautiful turquoise blue glacier lakes. The mountain ranges just got higher and higher the further we travelled and when we got our first glimpses of ‘the snow-capped peaks’ Howard had the biggest grin on his face! ... read more

This morning I woke up in Mount Cook. This evening I'll be 20km away, though I will have driven for 6 hours and covered nearly 500km in the car. How so? Well, I'm driving to Franz Josef, home of the glacier, to do a spot of ice climbing, however there's a bloody big mountain range blocking my most direct route. OK, OK, I could put on the crampons and hike over the mountains but a) it may be a shorter distance but it'll take me a lot longer and b) I couldn't leave the bean behind! So an epic trek to end up just the other side of the big mountain is ahead. Splendid... The good news in all of this is that the route is beautiful. To start with, I had to drive past two ... read more

A long-ish drive today, from Dunedin to Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain. 4 hours estimated driving time, and another 300+kms added to the poor little Vitz’s engine. It’s doing remarkably well, the green meanie. Bombing around the country without a care in the world, with only a bit of tuning required to the automatic gearbox to make it almost as good as new. By the time I drop it off in Auckland, they may well have to retire it, such is the distance I’m racking up. And the bank manager may need to extend my overdraft for the amount of fuel required to drive such ridiculous distances… Still, it started off well today – after a fairly ropey night’s sleep, due to the French heavy breather in the bunk above me (note not a snorer, ... read more

Drove from Tekapo to Mt Cook.....great hike to Hooker River Valley to see the Tasman Glacier.......check out the pictures!!!! The hike was incredible......tough one uphill.......warm day for here....up to about 27C... read more