Mt. Cook

Mt. Cook is one of the places I REALLY wanted to visit on my journey through New Zealand. The biggest reason being I was unable to walk the "Hilary Track" on the west coast of the North island and I wanted to make up for it by visiting the "Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Center" which is in Mt. Cook!

Well the alpine center is the least impressive thing about Mt. Cook and really Mt. Cook should be on the top of anyone's list of things to do and places to see while in New Zealand's South Island. It's a shame that it is so hard to access. Twizel is next nearest town - 45min drive away - and the nearest bus stop with any of the bus companies. Luckily, a local has realized this and runs an informative shuttle back and forth twice a day! http://www.cookconnect.co.nz

Twizel was established as a temporary town that housed hydroelectric construction workers. The town was supposed to be dismantled once the project was completed but people who had lived there the entire time (20+ years) didn't want to move... Now the town is growing as people are buying vacation homes close to Mt. Cook and fresh water rivers and lakes that are great for fishing! http://www.mtcooknz.com/mackenzie/twizel/

Mt. Cook is the tallest peak in New Zealand at 3,754m. 10m less than it measured on Dec 13th 1991 before a massive rock slide. The area is still in a slight "uplift" mode / not being too technical here! So the mountain is actually gaining 2mm of height per year. Mt. Cook park is part of a world heritage site which helps protect the area. :)

The Maori name for Mt. Cook, Aoraki, means "cloud piercer" and that is what Mt. Cook does - as clouds form around the other peaks, Aoraki often pierces through the clouds!

When people first drive into the town they mistake the first mountain they see as Mt. Cook (and it is impressive) - but you need to get closer to get a good view of Aoraki!

I did this wonderful hike of the Hooker Valley but was in a rush to get back in time for my tour of the glacier so I turned around, from what I can gather, about 10min before the end of the track! BIG MISTAKE! The view I got of the glacier from the tour, is from on top of the lateral moraine, if I had walked 10 more minutes I would have had an up close and personal experience! I was really upset with myself when I figured this out. But the good side of this story is that, had I completed the hike to the base of the glacier, I think I would have been disappointed with the view provided on the tour!

After the day was completed I was still really happy with what I saw in Mt. Cook