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Tuesday 22 March, Dunedin to Mount Cook.
This morning, breakfast is in the old stables, complete with a plastic horse. After this substantial meal we won't need much for lunch. Then a walk around the gardens before the public arrive.
We set out at 10.00am for the long drive (320km and nearly 4 hours) to see New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook. We take it easy and buy supplies at Omaru before heading northwest, almost across the width of the island. We pass Duntroon (Colin saluted), Twizel, and then drive along the west side of Lake Pukaki where Peter Jackson shot parts of the Hobbit movies. Like other glacier lakes we have seen, it is a bright pale blue colour. Arriving in the village of Mount Cook we find ourselves in an alpine valley at the foot of the 3,742m mountain which is still capped by snow. Several glaciers run down the valley, but don't make it as far as where we are staying at the Aoraki Alpine Lodge. We stay in tonight and cook our Rabbit pies, with salad to complete the meal, and then take a tour around the village.
Stop Press: We stopped off at the DEC Visitor Centre and read the weather forecast for tomorrow. The rain is coming, light in the morning, but heavy in the afternoon with up to 120mm. Plus winds up to 60km/h. Perhaps the morning would be a good time for a walk, and then check out the Sir Edmund Hillary movie in the afternoon?
Wednesday 23 March, Mt Cook, Edmund Hillary Centre, Kea Trail.
Well, we did what we had planned last night, and set off on the Kea Trail at 9.00am, hoping that the rain would hold off. It did and we had a very scenic walk on a well formed track, except for a dry creek crossing which obviously gets washed away every time the creek is active. The view of Mt Cook, Mt Sefton and Mt Wakefield was excellent. The ice on Mt Sefton was cracking and moaning as it melted so it sounded like thunder.
The afternoon gradually become more grey and then the rain started. Time to head into the Edmund Hillary museum and watch a movie on his life in the cinema. A simple evening meal in the "Old Mountaineers Café" completed our day.
This morning, breakfast is in the old stables, complete with a plastic horse. After this substantial meal we won't need much for lunch. Then a walk around the gardens before the public arrive.
We set out at 10.00am for the long drive (320km and nearly 4 hours) to see New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook. We take it easy and buy supplies at Omaru before heading northwest, almost across the width of the island. We pass Duntroon (Colin saluted), Twizel, and then drive along the west side of Lake Pukaki where Peter Jackson shot parts of the Hobbit movies. Like other glacier lakes we have seen, it is a bright pale blue colour. Arriving in the village of Mount Cook we find ourselves in an alpine valley at the foot of the 3,742m mountain which is still capped by snow. Several glaciers run down the valley, but don't make it as far as where we are staying at the Aoraki Alpine Lodge. We stay in tonight and cook our Rabbit pies, with salad to complete the meal, and then take a tour around the village.
Stop Press: We stopped off at the DEC Visitor Centre and read the weather forecast for tomorrow. The rain is coming, light in the morning, but heavy in the afternoon with up to 120mm. Plus winds up to 60km/h. Perhaps the morning would be a good time for a walk, and then check out the Sir Edmund Hillary movie in the afternoon?
Wednesday 23 March, Mt Cook, Edmund Hillary Centre, Kea Trail.
Well, we did what we had planned last night, and set off on the Kea Trail at 9.00am, hoping that the rain would hold off. It did and we had a very scenic walk on a well formed track, except for a dry creek crossing which obviously gets washed away every time the creek is active. The view of Mt Cook, Mt Sefton and Mt Wakefield was excellent. The ice on Mt Sefton was cracking and moaning as it melted so it sounded like thunder.
The afternoon gradually become more grey and then the rain started. Time to head into the Edmund Hillary museum and watch a movie on his life in the cinema. A simple evening meal in the "Old Mountaineers Café" completed our day.
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