Overnight at Mount Cook

Kia Ora!

A good night's sleep at The Hermitage, $19.00 each for continental breakfast (NZ is rather an expensive place to travel and eat), and we are ready for adventure. There are two glaciers to be explored; we opt for the Tasman glacier since there is time for only one. We must be on our way back to Timaru this day (Sunday).

We drive out to the trail head. I pointed out to KC (Kiwi Consort) that it was perfectly safe now; there are no orcs. (This is a reference to the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, in case you missed that.)

No orcs in sight
 

There were two options: a trail to view the glacier and Blue Lake and a trail to a mountain lake jetty. KC and I started up the first trail, but when it appeared to go straight up, KC decided to walk the jetty trail. It appeared to be mostly  flat and for him that was a wise decision. I continued on up and up to see what there was at the top of this mountain. Well, small mountain listed as a 30 minute hike. It took me an hour. I kept telling myself going up hill was easier on the knees than going down. That was not comforting, but I was determined I could do this. About 2/3 of the way up, a split in the trail took one down to Blue Lake and the other went up.

At the overlook for Blue Lake, I stopped to chat with some folks with their cameras and tripods. Don't cha' know, they were from Rochester, Minnesota. "You

Blue (?) Lake
 

The solo climber
 

betcha'!" they said. Together we wondered why Blue Lake was green. They didn't know any of my cousins. However one of the photographers offered to take this picture of me, since I was climbing solo. 

I continued on. A mature woman, much younger than me I'm sure, said "These young people can zip up this trail in 15 minutes, but I'm going to take my time." Then she zipped by me. I plodded on, questioning my sanity all the way. Toward the top, the trail became scree and boulders, to be picked through very carefully.

Dirty glacier
 

When I got to the top, there was a strong wind. Bracing myself, I pulled my camera out to record that I actually made it. So there is the glacier, that very dirty ridge at the bottom of the mountain along the water line. Looking in the other direction, one can see ice bergs floating in the brown water. I do not know why the water is this color.

Ice bergs, not rocks

Now it was time to descend. That I did easily in about 10 minutes. Most of my angst about this tramp was mental! I feared I would find KC impatiently waiting for me. I couldn't find him. About 15 minutes later, he came dragging back from his flat path. "It was at least 4 miles," he said. (It was listed at less than half that.) He was exhausted, and I knew my quads would be feeling this climb for a few days. Returning to the village, we lunched at Alpine Mountain Cafe (cheaper) and returned to Timaru, tired.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler

The Mountains Call

Kia Ora!

Aoraki Mount Cook beckoned us west again this weekend. Kiwi Consort (KC) and I ventured as far into the mountains as we could by car, to Mount Cook Village. We took our time getting there stopping at Lake Tekapo for lunch at the Thai restaurant and at Lake Pukaki, just because it is pretty.

The roads were good though traffic got pretty woolly at one point. The shepherd and his dog had things well in hand, and we thought this was good entertainment.



Of course the mountains were spectacular. I am totally captured by the beauty of this mountain. A heavy cloud cover began creeping over the ridge that loomed over our hotel.

There are three levels of accommodation in Mount Cook Village. Backpacker dormitory, Alpine Village, and the
Hermitage. Making all reservations via computer we went top class at the Hermitage. After we checked in, KC treated me to a drink at the bar. I asked the bartender what he did best and ended up with this. Lots of fruit juice. He didn't know I'm not that kind of girl.
Next time I will be more assertive.

We started our weekend with a short 30 minute tramp. Up a hill and back down; we should have expected that. But it was nothing compared to what we did the second day. More on that later.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler