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Published: June 10th 2008
Wow, what a winter wonderland we awoke to see! Gregg got up and took pictures of the sun rising over Mount Cook and the beautiful snow. The boys spent the morning playing with Harry and having snowball fights. We made a big breakfast at the Alpine Lodge before heading up to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre and out hiking. At the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre we viewed a 3D movie on Mount Cook from the Maori perspective and saw a planetarium show of the Southern Hemisphere sky. Which is very different than the Northern Hemisphere! After that we were ready to hit the Kea Point trail. It was a little less than an hour hike each way and not too strenuous. But with the snow, as you can see from the pictures, it was just beautiful. At first Gregg kept trying to keep the boys from pelting each other with snowballs and then he just gave up. They were wearing tennis shoes as well, as our winter stuff has not yet arrived. When we returned from our hike, we had a quick bite to eat from the cafe at the Hermitage and headed to the Tasman Glacier. It was
Alpine Lodge
Avery and wee Harry (as his parents call him)around a mountain range, super windy and about 10 degrees cooler. It was a 20 minute hike, nearly straight up - good thing the snow had melted there - and the wind nearly blew us off the side of the drop off. We did get a nice view of the glacier. Nearly 40% of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park is covered by glaciers. Like else where, they are melting at an alarming rate. It was so cool (literally) to be able to pick up the chunks of iceberg and wonder how old it was. Did you see the picture of Avery licking it? Once back in the car, we opted for the scenic, longer route home. We drove through numerous small towns enroute to Timaru. Stopped at a Takeaway for dinner. Takeaways are New Zealands answer to fast food - yummy, but not very healthy.
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John Fuller
non-member comment
Love the photos
What an awesome adventure you guys are having. The pictures really do make me miss New Zealand. Make sure you visit Queenstown at least twice during your visit. I'm so glad you took the leap to adventure. You will have a lifetime of memories!