MT COOK

THURSDAY 12th MAY

  I went and had breakfast in the town centre and then set off for Mt Cook.  The only problem was I couldn't find highway 80!  Eventually I had a closer look at the map and discovered that the turning for highway 80 was a few kilometres out of town and not in town as I had assumed.  I was happily hurtling along the road some 10Km out of town when I suddenly remembered I had taken my jacket off in the cafe and left it there.  Quick about turn and back to  Twizel!  Sure enough it was there, so eventually about 10.30am I got underway.  The route took me along side Lake Pukaki with the Ben Ohau Mountain range on my left.

My first stop was at Peter's Lookout, where I got out of the car and took some pictures.  It was incidentally a beautiful sunny day as can be seen from the pictures.

As I approached Aoraki Mount Cook, there were clouds hiding the peak of what I at first thought was Mt Cook, but it turned out to be actually Mt Setton.  I noticed a turning for Hooker Valley and went

some way down there taking in the breathtaking sights all around.

I then took the road to the Tasman Glacier.  This was 6Km of gravel track with numerous potholes, that was a pig of a drive.  Just as I was about to enter a really tricky section of the road, with a sheer fall on one side, I had too overtake a bloke and a bird who were running!  Must be bloody mad!  Anyway I tried to miss them but accidently hit a pothole that was full of water and sprayed them a bit!  Upon arrival I parked up and instinctively followed a Jap couple as they went up a path.

 It was very blowy there and I was glad I had donned my jacket and hat.  However I didn't see much of note other that a stream trunddling its way down the hill.  Having climbed some way, my path was

ultimately blocked by a very large puddle, and thorn bushes on the side.  Wearing my sandals I was ill equipped to overcome this hurdle, and so I did a 180 degree turn and returned whence I had come from.
It was only when I got to the bottom I noticed a sign for the viewing point for the Tasman Glacier going off at right angles to the way I had gone.  I shed my jacket and and donned the sleeveless one as the climb looked as though it was going to be warm work!  I wasn't wrong!  I had to stop a few times to catch my breath, but it made slightly more confident about tackling Machu Pichu - not a lot but slightly!

It certainly was some climb, and then with the destination in sight, the steep path ascending the hill completely disappeared under what looked like a rock fall.  I met a woman called Caroline who confirmed this fact to me as she made her way down on her backside, complaining about how your joints got stiffer as you got older.  I agreed with her and gingerly worked my way up.

I must admit it was worth the effort, although once at the top the wind blew viciously, nearly cutting you in two.  Although it looks like a lake with icebergs floating in it, do not be fooled.  There is between a metre or two of slurry floating on the top and underneath there is ice, 300m deep at one end and 600m deep at the other.  Now that's what I call a glacier!

I think the descent down the rock fall was even more precarious as some of the rocks were unstable and one had to test out each downward step before committing one's serious bulk to a given stone!

Having successfully got down - I must admit it was not as physically demanding as going up - I negotiated the 6Km dirt track back to the main road and headed back to Aoraki, specifically the Sir Edmund Hilary Centre.  His sculpture stands at the entrance to the centre. There I saw Mt Cook in its full splendour whilst also enjoying a pot of tea and a toasted sandwich.  The sun continued to shine on the righteous!

 

I finally set off for Twizel, but couldn't resist a few stops to look back at the magnificence of Mount Cooke that dominated the skyline, truly the Mont Blanc of the Southern Alps.

 The last picture was taken from the far end of Lake Pukaki, and then I turned back and headed down the straight road to Twizel.

In the evening I joined Scott and Phil along with their workmate Brian for a meal at the local pub/bistro.  The portions were enormous and the food was good.  Mark you should have seen the lamb shank that Brian demolished!  Tomorrow it will be a leisurely trip back to Dunedin.