Can you see the man in the Mountain?

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So onto our last trip of what has turned out to be one great experience and one hell of a place to visit. New Zealand has been a joy to see and with the aid of a fantastic group of people to experiance it with, has been a highlight of my jorney so far.

We left Queenstown for a 5 hour road trip towards the Sothern Alps of New Zealand. Again passing rolling hills and finally in the distance the summit of Mt Cook was before us, but still another hours drive before we arrive.

The lake that looked like it was not real

Then to my right was yet another amazing sight that New Zealand was to throw at us. In the centre of the South Island of New Zealand lies Lake Tekapo. This highland lake and settlement at 710 meters (2300 feet) is in the heart of the Mackenzie District and surrounded by a vast basin of golden tussock grass. The name Tekapo derives from Maori words Taka (sleeping mat) and Po (night). Finely ground rock in the glacial melted waters give Lake Tekapo a beautifully unique turquoise color.

Lake Tekapo's geographical and central location is protected from rough coastal weather by the Southern Alps in the west and the Two Thumb Range to the east. This allows this highland location to enjoy some of New Zealand's highest sunshine hours and lowest average wind speeds. Rainfall is just 575 millimeters (23 inches) annually.

Summer or winter, snow-covered or golden yellow, the surrounding mountains and turquoise lake make a spectacular backdrop for the Church of the Good Shepherd, which has the longest waiting list in New Zealand to get married in, and after a visit to the church you can see why. Especally when you go into the Church and see the view from the window behind the altar.

Being in the Remote area of Mt. Cook

We finally arrive in Mt. Cook and we book into the YHA, the only Youth Hostel in the area and quickly unpack and grab something to eat before the group leave to walk to the base of Mt. Cook.

Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, reaching a height of 3,754 metres (12,316 ft). It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki/Mt Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.

Location

The mountain is in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The park was formally declared in 1953, and in combination with Westland National Park is one of the United Nations World Heritage Parks. The park contains more than 140 peaks standing over 2,000 m (6,500 ft) and 72 named glaciers, which cover 40%!o(MISSING)f the park's 700 km² (173,000 acres).

The settlement of Mount Cook Village (also known as The Hermitage) is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain. It is 7 km from the end of the Tasman Glacier and 12 km south of Aoraki/Mount Cook's summit.

Naming and European discovery

Aoraki/Mount Cook seen from the south, taken from a glider flying at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)Aoraki means "Cloud Piercer" in the Ngāi Tahu dialect of the Māori language. Historically, the Māori name has been spelt Aorangi in the "canonical" Māori form.

The first European known to see Aoraki/Mount Cook was Abel Tasman, on December 13, 1642 during his first Pacific voyage. The English name of Mount Cook was given by Captain John Lort Stokes to honour Captain James Cook who first surveyed and circumnavigated the islands of New Zealand in 1770. Captain Cook did not sight the mountain during his exploration.

Following the settlement between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown in 1998, the name of the mountain was officially changed from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook to incorporate its historic Māori name, Aoraki. As part of the settlement, a number of South Island placenames were amended to incorporate their original Māori name. Signifying the importance of Aoraki/Mount Cook, it is the only one of these names where the Māori name precedes the English. Under the settlement the Crown agreed to return title to Aoraki/Mount Cook to Ngāi Tahu, who then formally gifted it back to the nation.

Geology

Aoraki/Mount Cook from LandSatThe Southern Alps on the South Island are formed by tectonic uplifting and pressure as the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates collide along the island's western coast. The uplifting continues, raising Aoraki/Mount Cook an average of 7 mm (just over a quarter of an inch) each year. However, erosive forces are also powerful shapers of the mountains. The severe weather is due to the mountain's jutting into powerful westerly winds of the Roaring Forties which run around approximately 45°S latitude, south of both Africa and Australia. The Southern Alps are the first obstacle the winds encounter after South America as they blow easterly across the Southern Ocean.

The height of Aoraki/Mount Cook was established in 1881 by G.J Roberts (from the West side) and in 1889 by T.N.Brodrick (from the Canterbury side). Their measurements agreed closely at 12,349 ft. The height was reduced by 10 m (33 ft) when approximately 10 million cubic metres of rock and ice fell off the northern peak on 14 December 1991.

Climbing

Aoraki/Mount Cook is a challenging ascent, with frequent storms and very steep snow and ice climbing to reach the peak. It is a triple peak, with the north peak (High Peak) being the highest.

First attempt

The first recorded European attempt on the summit was made by the Irishman Rev. William S. Green and the Swiss hotelier Emil Boss and the Swiss mountain guide Ulrich Kaufmann on 2 March 1882, but it was subsequently established that they were 50 m short of the true summit.

First ascents

On 25 December 1894 New Zealanders Tom Fyfe, James (Jack) Clarke and George Graham successfully reached the summit via the Hooker Valley and the north ridge. Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen made the second ascent on 14 March 1895 from the Tasman Glacier side, via the ridge that now bears his name. This is credited as the first solo ascent, although Zurbriggen was accompanied part of the way up the ridge by J Adamson. After Zurbriggen's ascent it was another ten years before the mountain was climbed again. In February 1905 James Clarke with four others completed the third ascent following Zurbriggen's route. So Clarke therefore became the first person to do a repeat ascent. The first woman to ascend the mountain was Freda du Faur, an Australian, on 3 December 1910. Local guide George Bannister, a descendant of Te Koeti Turanga of Ngāi Tahu, was the first Maori to successfully scale the peak in 1912. A traverse of the three peaks was first accomplished in 1913 by Freda du Faur and guides Peter and Alex Graham.

Ed Hillary made his first ascent in January 1947. In February 1948 with three others he made the first ascent of the South Ridge to the Low Peak.

Forests and glaciers

The average annual rainfall in the surrounding lowlands is around 7.6 m (300 inches). This very high rainfall leads to temperate rain forests in the coastal lowlands and a reliable source of snow in the mountains to keep the glaciers flowing. These include the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers to the east and the smaller Hooker and Mueller Glaciers to the south.

Area history

Aoraki/Mt Cook at Dusk viewed from the Tekapo Canal1642 - Aoraki sighted by Abel Tasman - Māori knew it for centuries before this
1770 - Captain Cook named the Southern Alps
1851 - Captain Stokes of the survey ship HMS Acheron gave the name Mt Cook to Aoraki
1884 - First Hermitage built under the direction of Frank Huddleson
1894 - First ascent of Aoraki/Mount Cook, on Christmas Day, by Jack Clarke, Tom Fyfe and George Graham
1910 - Freda du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook
1911 - The vital swing bridge is built in the Hooker Valley
1913 - First ascents of the footstool and Mt Sefton made by Freda du Faur's climbing party
1913 - Hermitage first ravaged by floods in January, then destroyed beyond repair by floods two months later
1914 - First fatal accident, when three men caught in avalanche on Linda Glacier
1914 - Second Hermitage opened, on different site
1957 - Second Hermitage razed to the ground
1959 - First school opens, Aoraki Mt Cook School
1981 - Passenger flights begin by Mount Cook Airline, now part of Air New Zealand Link
1982 - Mark Inglis trapped in schrund
1991 - Avalanche of 10 million cubic metres of snow and rock causes 10 metres to be lost off the top of Aoraki/Mount Cook
1998 - The Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act officially recognises the original name, renaming the mountain Aoraki/Mt Cook

The Best Hiking Trip on New Zealand

During the last 3 weeks l have done quiet abit of hiking across some remarkable scenery and landscapes, but the hike towards Mt. Cook has to be one of the most beautiful. The 3 hour return walk towards the Hooker Valley took us over bridges, through streams and up and down stunning areas of native trees, bushes and alpine plants. The summit of Mt. Cook is not visable from our hostel and it took about an hour before the summit came back into sight. Then as l looked at the snow capped summit l noticed a weird sight that at first l thought was not really there!. I kept looking at this sight for a few minutes before l asked sabrina and Jess if they too could see it.

The Face in the Mountain

Just below the Snow capped summit we could see a sad man's face that even had a tear rolling form his eye. Once we could see it, the face remained with us all the way to the lake at the base of the mountain were the glacier and its icebergs fell into the water and formed the river that we had been following during our hike to this point. We stopped for a much needed rest and a few group pictures before we headed back to the car park where Dave was to pick us up and take us back to the hostel.

Comfort food in the form of, Shephards Pie

During the past few weeks the group had been split into 3 groups that took turns to cook the meals or washed up afterwards. I had been given a different duty of packing and unpacking the bus wherever we stopped. So on the last night in Mt Cook l offered to cook, and whats best after hiking during the day was to have Shephards Pie. So with the sid of Sara & Alex we cooked the evening meal along with Mixed Vegetables and leeks with cream and cheese sauce. Once eaten we then presented Dave a T-Shirt as a way of thanks and a collection that we had done during the day. Then the fun started we climbed aboard the bus in the carpark and for the next hour or so turned it into the Party Bus, where we drunk the remaining Wine, Beer etc.

A great way to end a great Tour

The next morning we leave Mt. Cook and make our way to Christchurch. The mood in the bus today was quiet as everyone knew it was our finally journey together. When we arrived in Christchurch the group had arranged different accomadation and Dave dropped people of at their Hotels/Hostels. We arrange that everyone would meet up for one last meal together in the Bar/Bistro that myself, Louise, Sara and Christain were staying. So at 6pm the group reformed with Dave, who was leaving us for the last time.

4270Km from start to finish, North to South and forming new friends

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Comments

[angela]

I saw the man in the mountain!! New Zealand does look to be the most fantastic country to visit your blogs have made it very exciting,the photographs are great ,even those of you!! Happy Easter!!!!! Where are we going to next? take care

[Tess Johnson]

yes!
I can see him!!

[lynda bissell]

Mt Cook and the mts in NZ are awesome !!
Yes, I can see the sad man in the mt. G, what group were you with in NZ??? I am planning on joining a hiking group there in the S. Island and am looking into various adventure groups. Thanks, Lynda (from Vietnam trip)