Mount Cook Area
16th March 2009
Before leaving the Dunedin area we drove out along the Otago Peninsula. The stunning coves and rock faces made the trip worthwhile but the plan of seeing an albatross was scuppered by both the price and the weather. This time it wasn't the cloud that gave us a problem but the lack of wind. Albatross need the wind to glide on, so on calm days, just like this one, they tend to stay on the ground. At $26 to go and see them sitting down, we decided that we were happy with the views of seals and cormorant and headed back towards Dunedin.
The road up the coast from Dunedin was the longest and flattest road that we had encountered so far and we made good time - we even managed to fit an extra free sightseeing opportunity at the Moeraki boulders, just along the coast from Oamaru. The boulders are left overs from the volcanic age and during their passage from wherever they came to the beach they have been shaped into almost perfectly round stones. There were about 50 or so on the beach with a few of them that are best described as looking like hatched egg shell, with crystallised rock inside. We ended up there at mid morning so all the artsy photos we had seen were hampered by the other tourists and children. One lady had come fully equipped with tripod and big camera etc, but after waiting 10 minutes or so for a child to move out of the way was then thwarted by the next passing tourists. I managed to get a few shots that don't have other people in after trying a few times but in the end we admired it without the aid of a lens and moved on.
We turned back inland after the boulders and after the few days of flat land we started to see the mountains again. I don't really know why, but whenever we get to the mountains I feel my mood lifting. The flat land areas are still impressive, especially the coastlines, but there is nothing as awe inspiring as the snowy mountains looming large in front.
We made for a town called Twizel which I had wanted to visit since seeing a picture in the Lord of the Rings Location book wisely purchased in Matamata. It wasn't even a location shot or anything but the picture of a crew member on a lane with the mountains behind looked amazing and I wanted to see it for myself. Twizel itself was not in existence until the late 60's when the final stage of Hydro Electric plants was built nearby. Since then it has survived as a service area for the region. This means that aesthetically it's not really up to much but again, as in Wanaka, it had that nice easy going feel to it. We arrived mid afternoon but after a quick coffee decided to continue up towards the Mount Cook Village about 80km or so further up the road. After about another 25km's or so we got our first sight of Mount Cook. Officially we may have first seen it from the Fox Glacier side of the Southern Alps, but the cloud meant we never got a good view. This time the sky was clear and as we turned a corner we saw the, now familiar, ridge peak, directly in front of us.
Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 3755m high. It dominates every photo of the region and is, of course, capped off with bright white snow all year round. We stopped for a few pictures at a closed look out (that's about as rock and roll as we get nowadays!) and continued along. By this time it was getting late and we opted to stop at a village, or a camp site/helicopter scenic flight booking office, called Glentanner. The view was so appealing that after checking in we had a drink and just soaked it up for as long as possible before going to our pitch and setting up.
Most areas of the camp had the same view so before dinner and again for sunrise, I set up my mini tripod and took as many photos as possible with the hope of just getting the one or two that do it justice. In a rash moment I also decided that, if the weather was still this perfect in the morning, I was going to book a scenic flight over the valley. This time it would have to be just me though as Jemma couldn't afford it and I couldn't afford to sub it.
As I said I was up again at sunrise and the weather was clear and bright once again. It was amazing to be watching the sun rise and catch the top of Mount Cook before slowly illuminating the rest of the range with a pink then orangey glow. I booked in to fly at 9.00am but at that point they still needed one more to get the minimum of 4 people. When I arrived back just before 9.00 I was already to barter a cheap flight for Jemma but they had filled the places. I left Jemma with a borrowed, out of date celebrity gossip magazine and a hot chocolate and of course the view, and set off.
The first part of the flight was over the Blue River and glacial moraine coming from the Tasman Glacier. This in itself was beautiful but as we got closer we began to see all the small ridges and small glacier tops being formed. I am struggling to put it into suitable words but just accept the fact that it was amazing. After a brief snow landing we crossed the ridge and saw the tops of both the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers before heading around the top of Mount Cook. To anyone who has watched the scene from the Return of the King when the beacons are lit across the mountains, they know the view I got while flying around. All too soon it was time to head back and land but well worth the money.
Ignoring the 60km run back to Twizel for petrol, we then headed up the same road (there is only one road) to Mount Cook Village. With Mount Cook and the rest of the range ever increasing in front we arrived at the small collection of a hotel, backpacker lodge, and information centre and a couple of Cafe's, known as Mount Cook Village. We explored the i-site, getting a reminder of the danger of climbing in the ranges by looking at the books of remembrance and after a coke (me), and a free glass of water (Jemma) in the Hermitage (set up and supported by Sir Edmund Hillary), we walked to a lookout called Kea Point which overlooked the Hooker Glacier face. Again the views were stunning but this glacier face was mainly mud and rocks collected on the journey downhill.
On the way out of Mount Cook we drove to the car park nearest the Tasman Glacier terminal face. After a 30minute walk we arrived at a viewing area overlooking a milky white/grey lake, formed by the glacier only about 30 years ago, The Tasman glacier terminal face, and oddly enough, a Chinese couple in full wedding gear and a photographer. Once again spectacular views with icebergs in the lake and small speed boats showing the size of them. There was also the interesting view of an English couple who decided they would walk to one of the smaller lakes further down the valley. When they got there they either forgot, or didn't care about the people looking down on them, and stripped off for a spot of skinny dipping. Luckily for them they were far enough away so that my cameras zoom capabilities left only a fuzzy image. What I don't think they bargained for was the professional camera man with large telephoto lens. Us, the wedding couple (we think on a photo shoot rather than actually just married) and the photographer all had a glimpse at the pictures and discussed the relative merits or downsides of cold water on various human appendages.
Viewing over (Glacial viewing obviously), we got back to the Spaceship and headed over to lake Tekapo stopping on the way for a near perfect reflection of Mount Cook and the surrounding range in Lake Pukaki. The lake was so still it was like a mirror and the sort of view that photographers wait months to get. Once again I snapped away liberally and hopefully got a shot that will show how amazing it really was.
Lake Tekapo is the small town sitting on the banks of... yep; you guessed it, Lake Tekapo. Because of the Glacial run off both Lake Pukaki and Tekapo both appear to be a vivid turquoise blue. When it's cloudy you don't get as much of the effect but you can still see it. We only had a few hours in the town itself after we got up but we managed to find the Mount John Observatory just outside town which has amazing 360degree views across the Mackenzie Valley and the blue lake, before viewing the only other two attractions in the town. The first of these being the Church of the good shepherd, a picture postcard perfect small stone church right on the lake shore, and the close by Collie dog memorial in honour of all the sheep dogs that have farmed in the region. We didn't exactly get the significance of the collie dog statue but it looked good, especially with swirling clouds and mountains as a backdrop.
Now it was time to say goodbye to the Southern Alps, head back to the coast and carry on North up to Christchurch.