Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
Day 63 - 1st April - Queenstown to Mount Cook
You may have noticed that I describe the scenery almost everywhere in the whole of New Zealand as 'stunningly beautiful' or 'the best I've ever seen' so often that it's lost all meaning. Well forget the ubiquitous nature of my endless praise and adulation for New Zealand. Mount Cook National Park is simply the most incredible and beautiful place I've seen in New Zealand, possibly in my whole life. It's just as well I came here last because otherwise everywhere else would have seemed quite tedious in comparison.
I wasn't even planning to be here today. I wanted to spend a couple of days in Queenstown resting after all that hiking before heading to Mount Cook National Park a few days layer. But when I entered the information center to ask what the forecast for the rest of the week was I was told by a Department of Conservation ranger that I should get over to Mount Cook ASAP because the weather would be perfect but only for the next few days. Given that Mount Cook NP is prone to some of the most unstable weather around I thought it prudent to get over there right away. Apparently people visit the park for weeks and then leave without even seeing it! So I had to get there. I rearranged my bus schedule and by early afternoon today I was in the park.
First a little bit about the area. Mount Cook, or Aoraki to give it it's Maori name, is the tallest mountain in New Zealand and the whole of Australasia. At 3,755 metres/12,000 feet it may be outsized by many other peaks but it's still an extremely challenging climb for its size. The mountain is the centrepiece of the National Park of the same name and the village, also of the same name, is located nearby.
As we drove towards the mountain the gargantuan size of it was quite obvious. Hundreds of other peaks also crowded the horizon in every possible direction as we approached the village. I was staring out the window in awe of the unbelievable scenery. I checked into the hostel which was the nicest one I'd ever stayed in, everything about this place was perfect. I dropped my bags off and without pause I headed off for a walk.
My walk of choice was a relatively easy level hike along the Hooker Valley towards the base of Mount Cook. Though I didn't gain any height on the walk I was granted some wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and glaciers. By the time I got back it was dark and I vowed to gain some altitude the next day.
Day 64 - 2nd April - Mount Cook
I had two hikes to complete today. The only problem with Mount Cook NP is most of the tracks in the area are only for hardcore mountaineers, not trampers. The only overnight track in the area is Mueller Hut and that is what I was intending to do later today. But that only takes half a day to reach so first I went on another short hike in the morning. I hiked up the Red Tarn track and was rewarded with some great views.
This was just a warm up for Mueller Hut though and I headed up towards it in the early afternoon. Mueller Hut is located near the summit of Mount Olivier overlooking Mount Cook and also providing wonderful views of the other peaks in the area, including the stunning Mount Sefton. The walk to Mueller Hut was the most sadistic and punishing hike I'd ever taken. Right from the start it just went straight up, climbing excruciatingly steep stairs and it just kept on going. It didn't level out at all, not once. It just kept on going. The weight of the pack didn't help either even though I'd only packed for one night.
By the time I reached Sealy Tarns I wanted to die. I mean that in a good way of course, like an 'oh my god I don't want to live any more isn't it wonderful?!' sort of thing. I was dripping wet despite there not being a cloud in the sky and I had to stop for a rest. But Sealy Tarns was just the halfway point. The next stretch of track didn't even have any steps, it was boulder scrambling up more murderously steep slopes the rest of the way. When I neared the top of the mountain ridge I was dizzy and talking to myself in a language that neither myself, not anyone else would be able to understand.
The views from the top of the ridge line were truly life affirming and the hut wasn't far away now. Upon reaching it I immediately promoted it to my favourite hut in the country, there was no contest there. It was built on stilts on a raised platform and it had a spacious outdoor viewing platform with seats where tired trampers were rewarded with extraordinary views.
I spent most of the rest of the day relaxing and taking in the scenery. It was still a stunning day outside and the sun warmed us until quite late in the evening when it finally disappeared behind Mount Sefton and we had to put on warm clothing. The only other trip of the day left was the short scramble to the peak of Mount Olivier just above the hut.
After a spectacular sunset I took some time to stargaze and to take some photos of the mountains illuminated by the moonlight.
view from Mount Olivier
another view from Mount Olivier
the wonderful Mueller Hut...
...and its outside deckDay 65 - 3rd April - Mount Cook
I awoke long before anybody else was awake and while it was still dark outside. It was a freezing morning outside so I took my sleeping bag and found a nice flat rock to sit on right next to the steep edge of Mount Olivier. Although dark out there was a faint glow appearing on the horizon over Mount Cook and the nearby ranges. Before long a sublime red light filled the dark horizon and when the sun finally crept into view it lit up the peak of Sefton with a fiery red glow. At that point I decided to head back down the mountain and back to the village. It wasn't that I was in a hurry or anything but I figured it would be nice to take a walk in such splendid lighting conditions. After all it was yet another perfect day here in the park so why not? I headed down past Sealy Tarns again, stopping to get some photos of the amazing reflections of the mountains, before heading down. It was quite a knee bending descent but I had my trekking poles to take the strain off my knees.
It was still quite early in the day when I arrived back at the hostel and I still had one more hike left in the area I wanted to do. The ball pass hut route was an eighteen kilometre hike that ran alongside the enormous Tasman Glacier via a long 4x4 dirt road. The problem was that the track started about ten kilometres away from the hostel and I didn't have time to walk that. Since there was no public transport to the start of the hike I rented a bike and cycled there instead. This proved to be a great idea as the ride was wonderful, through even more scenery yet over relatively flat terrain so I wasn't already exhausted by the time I reached the trail head.
I locked up my bike at the car park and first took a short half-hour walk to a viewpoint over the glacier. It was absolutely enormous, several kilometres wide and seemingly endlessly long as it stretched out into the distant horizon. It's apparently the biggest glacier in New Zealand and that's up against some pretty stiff competition. I returned to the car park and began the main hike off towards the site of ball pass hut (which sadly is no longer there). The track ran alongside the base of some tall mountains that obscured the view of Mount Cook itself. Although nowhere near at tall as Cook they were close enough to block out the master peak that was just behind. On the other side of the track was a large rock moraine, a big wall of loose rock that obscured the view of the glacier also. For most of the hike the moraine persisted in blocking out the scenery and, annoyingly enough, it kept looking like it was going to end soon over the horizon, but then you would realise that it kept on going.
All this blind walking though just served to make the view all that more breathtaking when the rock moraine finally and suddenly lowered past the line of sight of the road. I was able to stare in awe at the glacier down below me, it was incredible, and so quiet. I could have sat there for hours on end. One thing you don't appreciate from the photos is the sheer scale of the place. I keep mentioning how vast the glacier is but you still have to be there to really get a proper idea of the size.
I could just see Mount Cook over the top of the mountain ridge on the other side of the track. I was still so close to the smaller mountain range that it blocked most of the view but at least I could see Cook's summit. But I was so damn close to the mountain, the closest a non-mountaineer can get, and I wanted to see the whole thing! So I started to scramble up the dangerously steep side of the smaller ridge that was in the way. After climbing some loose scree slope and pulling myself over some steep rock faces I finally managed to get to the top of the ridge. Suddenly there was Mount Cook, standing before be and utterly dominating the scenery. From a distance it looks colossal, up close to the base it was beyond description, towering over me at a dizzying height that required me to crane my neck up and lean back. I was satisfied now, this was more than most walkers see of the mountain and I turned round to go back down.
After almost killing myself during my descent, due to a rock I was hanging off giving way under my weight, I got to the end of the trail again and began to backtrack along the path, returning to the car park and picking up my bike again. The ride back was enjoyable with the sun getting low in the sky and casting long shadows across the landscape. Upon reaching my hostel I was about as tired as I'd ever been in my life. After all I hadn't even taken a day to rest since finishing the Routeburn and Caples track and today I'd covered about forty five kilometres, twenty five on foot (including the return from Mueller Hut) and twenty on a bike.
I spent the evening relaxing and resting my tired legs as well as chatting to some of my fellow backpackers. I also opened a bottle of wine to celebrate my not falling to my death earlier when I was climbing down from the ridge next to Mount Cook.
looking up from the base of Mount Cook
the enormous Tasman Glacier
sunrise over the village
waiting for sunrise
stunning reflections
Day 66 - 4th April - Mount Cook to Christchurch
I had booked the early morning shuttle away from Mount Cook Village. This would take me to Twizel nearby and then I would meet the Kiwi Experience bus once again. I wasn't exactly in a hurry to leave this wonderful place but the weather forecast was right and some ominous looking rainclouds were starting to creep in. However they had the good manners to wait until I had left the area before the downpour started. Just as we were leaving a brilliant rainbow appeared over the mountains and the last of the blue skies were still visible as we drove off. It wasn't until we were a good distance away when the big grey clouds settled overhead and the heavens opened.
Though it may have been wet at Mount Cook it was still a baking hot day where I was. I hopped on the Kiwi Ex bus and we began our scenic drive to Christchurch. The skies remained clear above us all day and it was one of the hottest days I'd been in on the south island. We made several scenic stops along the way including at Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo. These two lakes are wonderfully unique because they're filled with what is known as 'rock salt', a fine white powder that is created from the rocks that are ground up by the glaciers coming off the southern alps. As a result of this rock salt the lakes are a fantastic glowing turquoise colour that you don't normally see in bodies of water. With the backdrop of the mountains they are truly a stunning sight.
It was a long day and eventually the bus arrived in Christchurch in the evening. I didn't really have time to take in my surroundings, I just reported straight to the hostel and grabbed a bite to eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment