What a day! I am absolutely exhausted, but would definitely say that I made the most of 24 hours in Mount Cook! I got up at 7am, thankfully to totally clear, blue skies - perfect for a good walk in the mountains. I had a list of all of the possible tracks from the village, of which I'd already done red tarns last night. This morning, I decided to head towards Kea Point further up the valley, and turned off towards Sealy Tarns - supposedly a very steep climb, but with rewarding views at the end.

A short way along the path, there were some steps where someone had very kindly written on the third one up: 'Only 1810 steps to go!' Oh dear, I'd better just get my head down and plod on up!
Those steps actually went pretty quickly, probably because the views were just getting better and better, that was more than enough motivation to keep going. Mount Cook was perfectly clear in the distance and the glacier lakes sparkled in the valley basin. There is a lookout and a picnic bench up at the tarns (1250m). With these views, I reckon it's the best picnic spot EVER! And even better, you have to work for it!

My climb didn't end there though, the next target was Mueller Hut at 1780m. The climb from Sealy Tarns upwards was much more rugged - no steps to help anymore. There were loose stones and big rocks to scramble over, although nowhere near as difficult as Taranaki. I reached a small plateau at the top of the ridge, where I could see down to the other side and beyond. There was so much snow up there! It was so pretty and rugged, it made me feel like a proper explorer!

From there, I had completed most of the climb and just had to pick my way across some big boulders round the ridge and follow orange markers in the snow up to Mueller Hut, set in a beautiful, mountainous, winter wonderland. (Except it's summer and I was in shorts and t-shirt...) I had brought my backpack up instead of just the bumbag because I knew it could get very cold up there if you stood still for long or the weather changed.
Most people doing this track would stay the night in the hut. I'd love to have spent a couple of hours up there perhaps, but the hut is very basic and it must get ridiculously cold at night.

There was a cardboard warning sign in the snow on the approach to the hut, on which someone had scribbled: "Warning! Follow the markers. Crevasse danger." I obviously would have followed the markers anyway, but when I chatted to the guy on duty at the hut, he rather casually said the following: "Oh yeah, I put that up this morning because someone fell down a 5m crevasse just there yesterday (pointing to a spot very nearby) and dislocated his shoulder and had to be airlifted to hospital!" Well, I couldn't possibly have followed those markers any more closely on my way back down, checking every step before I put my weight down!

It had taken 2 hours to reach the hut and took a further 1 hour 15 to pick my way down. I was able to run down the 1810 steps from Sealy Tarns at least - I'd hate to have to walk down all of those steps!

When I'd reached the bottom, I still had a couple of hours to spare before my shuttle and I was pretty desperate to do the Hooker Valley Track I'd read about in the leaflet. It doesn't really involve any climbing, but is a popular route because of the fantastic scenery. It goes across two huge swing bridges and leads to the Hooker Glacier and Lake. There's no way I had time to walk it, so I decided to just run and see how I felt.

I got used to running with a backpack on after a while and although tiring after climbing up to Mueller, I was so glad I did it. I've taken many more wonderful pictures of that track too. I don't think the people on the wobbly bridges much appreciated my running over them mind, I did try to run like the Tarahumara! (As if I was trying to run in bare feet.)

After 15 miles in total, I finally made it back to the village, where I treated myself to lunch in The Mountaineer's Cafe. I was unimpressed with the 15% surcharge due to it being a public holiday mind! (Waitangi Day) I couldn't believe it was still only 4 o'clock when I was picked up to go to Lake Tekapo. My driver asked what everyone had been up to since yesterday and subsequently asked me if I was on drugs...!

I've just arrived at the YHA overlooking the beautiful Lake Tekapo, another lovely blue lake with a mountainous backdrop. I'm now going for a nap as I've booked a night tour at the Observatory up on Mount John - I'll be going star gazing at midnight!