The journey from Dunedin to Mount Cook was some 350k so made a couple of stops. First at Oamaru which was really so endearing; a gorgeous harbour town with many Victorian features. We then visited Omarama for a pit stop and Tom was delighted to see that a convention of Vintage Corvette Stingrays had also stopped by!

As we approached the Mount Cook area we started to see the distant mountain range partly shrouded in cloud and looking magnificent. We then came over the range and saw THE most stunning view of Lake Pukaki - we were both absolutely knocked out by the sight ; the lake is such an incredible colour, an almost breath-taking "azure blue" created by the sun reflecting on the glacier waters and reflecting back from the rock particles washed down from the mountains.

The journey then became totally protracted as we had to stop at almost every bend to admire the views and as we actually approached Mount Cook the clouds lifted, giving magnificent views of the Mount Cook and Glaciers - brilliant!

Mount Cook is a small hamlet at the end of the road, consisting mainly of the hotel overlooking Mount Cook and a backpacker's motel. Decided to mix it up with the kids and went down to motel for dinner which was lovely, reasonable and had a great atmosphere.

Woke up next morning with a view of the early morning sun on the mountain which was fantastic until the cloud promptly robbed it! Packed up and on the way out of Mount Cook, decided to do a small detour to see the Tasman glacier .Should have known that this would incur a mountain climb which was not so easy in our trusty flip flops - ha ha caused a deal of consternation from the serious walkers! Well worth the effort though as when we got to the top we had a great view over the Tasman Lake with the icebergs that have broken away from the glacier.