Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
The mountain
becomes clearer and taller with every mile and slowly you can guess
how big the snowy peaks actually are. With its 3724 meters, Mt Cook towers over the few houses in the valley.
At the feet of
Mt Cook its small namesake village provides for high class
accomodation with a view on the mountain. Next to it, there is a huge
DOC camp site at the beginning of the Hooker Valley track – an
amazing day walk that leads to the face of Hooker Glacier and has
breathtaking views on the Mountains in addition to three
swingbridges, some views on glacier lakes and a river.
The other
worthwhile walk in the area is a relaxed 25 minute climb to a lookout
on Tasman Glacier. Both Glaciers are really interesting to see, but
not really at their best in summer. The terminal faces don't really show any
ice – it's all hidden beneath a thick layer of grey rubble. Still,
we saw some ice blocks floating on Hooker Glacier Lake and it is easy
to imagine how fascinating all this must look in winter and higher up
the mountain.
Alpine Memorial, Hooker Valley |
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