Author: Ethan Gannett

Categories
Uncategorized

Mount Cook, New Zealand

Mt. Cook as seen from the Hooker Trail

They call it the Southern Alps; this is the Mt. Cook region of New Zealand. A cross between the Alps and Nepal, this is where one can find the tallest peaks and largest glaciers on the southern island.

Mt. Cook looms in the distance across Lake Tekapo

There are plenty of hiking trails, but a must is the Hooker Trail that is reminiscent of the Himalayas as you traverse up a river valley, across long suspension bridges, to get breathtaking views of Mt. Cook (aka Aoroki).  Edmund Hillary climbed this technical 12,218 ft mountain peak in preparation for his ascent up Mt. Everest.  It may seem pale in comparison, but the snowy summit ridges are a very challenging multi-day climb for even the most experienced mountaineers.

In the lower left and at the beginning of the Hooker Trail is this monument to all those who died in these mountains during climbs. The memorial monument is absolutely covered with small bronze plaques, each with a name and death date. It gives you respect for the dangers of these mountain though they look so serene.
The Hooker Trail has three long suspensions bridges crossing the Hooker River as you make your way up the trail. Each view more spectacular than the next.
The catwalk along the Hooker Trail. Mt. Cook is now visible.
The third suspension bridge, Mt Cook now looming large
The end of the trail, this is Hooker Lake and Glacier with Mt. Cook in the background

We also hiked up some 2200 steps to the Sealy Tarns and then up most of the way to the Mueller Hut.   Knees ached, but after having doing 2722 steps on the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs, this was a cake walk for us!  This was the best place to see the Kea parrot, the only alpine parrot in the world.

The view of Mt. Cook as you climb up to Sealy Tarns. From here you can see Mt. Cook, Hooker Glacier, Lake, and river and Mueller Lake.
The view from Sealy Tarns
Suzie making her way back down the steps to Sealy Tarns. Ow, ow, ow!

Another nearby short hike is Tasman Glacier.  More mound of dirt then icy blue glacier, this is a great example of the recession of glaciers over the years.  We were lucky enough to encounter an Aussie couple that had a picture of the wife’s mother posing in front of the glacier in 1961.  All dressed in 60’s ski garb and with a pole in hand, she was standing at the edge of the glacier.  We took the same picture of the woman standing in the same location for her to take back to her family.   Where she was standing was some 4 kilometers now from the edge of the glacier!

That’s the edge of Tasman Glacier on Tasman Lake. The glacier is covered with rock and dirt leaving much of it indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain. You can see just a hint of the icy white glacier poking out further up the valley.
A panorama view of Tasman Lake
We were greeted by a sunrise rainbow over Mt. Sefton the day after we arrived. This view, believe it or not, was from our bedroom window!

As usual, leave your comments and feedback below. Kia ora!