Mt. Cook

Mt. Cook, NZ

Hit up Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s tallest peak. The Mt. Cook village is home to maybe 100 people, consisting of a hotel, a motel, and a YHA hostel. There is no food store, bank, or gas station. The closest amenities are about an hour drive south.

I only stayed an evening, arriving around noon and leaving around two o’clock the next day. During my stay, I did a 7 hour hike through Hooker Valley to the glacier at the bottom of Mt. Cook. This was definitely the best hike I did in New Zealand. Set amongst Gondor and the backdrop for Minas Tirith, the scenery was marvelous. The hike involves crossing huge rivers using wire bridges and steep paths carved into the sides of cliffs. Once again, huge mountains tower over either side of the valley as the glacier lake drains through a river towards the bottom.

Once at the base of the glacier, the water is completely still and ice cold. There were small icebergs floating through the ice grey water. Apparently, the water is this icy grey color due to glacier dust. Basically, the glacier moves across rock extremely slowly, grinding and smoothing the rocks out, while producing a fine granular dust that mixes with the water. Thank you Mr. Bus Driver for that tid bit.


Pic: The fields of Gondor