Blogs from Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 18

The day that we drove to Mount Cook (the highest peak in NZ) was a beautiful sunny day. We are now finding that this is usually the case if we decide to spend the day in the car! As we neared Mount Cook we made some excellent view stops. One in particular was at Pakeri Lake. Because all the water is glacial, the lakes are a strange shade of blue which adds to the view. We arrived pretty early at the campsite right in Mount Cook National Park which gave us plenty of time to enjoy some of the sunny weather. We were camped right under the Sumner Peak with all its glaciers meaning that as we sunbathed on the grass, we could hear avalanches and ice falls echoing round the mountains. As we had spare ... read more

My time travelling in countries similar to Canada has come to an end. In less than 24 hours I will be on a plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I will begin to travel through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Although slightly nervous at the unknown, I am feeling extremely excited to embarque upon the one part of my trip that I think will truly open my eyes to different cultures, experiences and ways of life. This is the reason I wanted to travel and therefore it seems that my entire journey has been leading up to this moment. I have thoroughly enjoyed my last couple weeks in New Zealand, but once again it seems they have also been filled with anticipation as to what next to come. After the Routeburn track I spent one ... read more

We rise early and leave our maternity hospital room to have a quick nose through Geraldine's main street, a cute mix of craft shops and small grocers. Massive supermarkets are few and far between round here - there are fewer than 7 people per square kilometre in South Island, compared to 281 on the island of Great Britain - and small food shops abound. Is there anything not good about this country? We pick up a nice chunk of monkfish for about £5 a kilo. I repeat, is there anything not good about this country? We drive out of Geraldine, westwards, and the scenery changes. This is Mackenzie Country, a huge grassy basin famed for its sheep farming. The drive is actually gradually taking us back towards the Southern Alps, and indeed against the gently rolling ... read more

אחרי אגם טיקאפו הגעתי שוב למאונט קוק לעשות את המולר האט היתי אמור לפגוש שם את שגיב מהאכסניה של ג'וני ורוני בקריצ'רץ התחלתי את הטרק בשלוש וחצי די לחוץ בזמן אחלה מזג אוויר מתארגן מהר על הציוד , שוכח קפופות וחם צוואר אבל העיקר יש מעיל גשם מתחיל לטפס , עליה חדה מאוד בין שלוש וחצי שעות לארבע שעות בדרך למעלה פוגש את איסם הוא לבנוני שבא לטייל קצת הוא חיי באנגליה , מלמד מתמטיקה חוויה לטייל עם ערבי בדרך למעלה כל הזמן פוגשים אנשים שיורדים מהביקתה ואומרים כל הזמן "יש לך עוד לפחות שעתים" גם אחרי שעברו שעתיים שעה וחצי לפני הבקתה היה לנו טיפוס על השלג הזה היה ממש מגניב הגענו לבקתה , שם פגשתי את עמית ואפרת למחרת סימנו את המסלול ביחד ונסענו ביחד לוואנקה אגב לגבי שגיב, הישראלי מקריצ'רץ הוא דפק את ... read more

It rained!! And then it snowed........and then we left!! The drive to Mt Cook was filled with cool views of the New Zealand countryside. We passed through a truly massive grassy plain fringed by mountains which had been the location for a few of the battle scenes in LOTRs. We also passed the surreal turquoise waters of the man made canals which transported water from some massive dam which I can’t remember the name of. By the time we got to the Mt Cook Village turn off the weather had caught us up and it started to rain again. Any view of Mt Cook would have to wait. Being a bit naïve we hadn’t book ahead and were lucky to find a vacancy at the first place we tried a few kilometers from the Village. Being ... read more