WOW!!! We keep using this word but honestly if you saw this landscape you'd be hard pressed to think of another descriptive term.
We arrived to Mount Cook National Park in the afternoon. Cloudy and drizzly. The top of the mountains were covered in clouds, no sighting of the mighty mountain as yet. We checked into the only hotel in the area, The Hermitage Hotel. Originally built in early 1900's. The Hermitage has been destroyed and rebuilt twice, once flooded by a swelling river and secondly by fire as they neared completion of the rebuilding! Third time is the charm as the hotel has stood and been added on to several times sinc the late 1940's. A beautiful old hotel with lots of woodwork and massive fireplaces in the lounge and dining rooms. Definitely a treat along the way as we have been staying in small b and b's, that are lovely but small.
The hotel also has The Sir Edmund Hillary Centre. A museum and movie about his life and feats accomplished during his lifetime. Displays of climbing equipment and logs of climbing huts along with accounts of those who took on the mountain. Some won and made it to her summit and some did not. Hillary, as many climbers do, used Mount Cook to prepare for his ascent of Everest. Hillary gained notariety for his climb of Everest, but he did many good works for the people of Nepal after his famous adventure was over. He was beloved by the people there and always treated as a hero by them!
We toured the museum and then enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Panorama Dining room. Unbelievable view of the mountains as the sun sets and lights up the now visible monolithic stones in front of us!
33 degrees at bedtime - thank goodness for room heaters as they do not have central heating and air conditioning. Toasty and comfortable nights sleep to prepare for our hike tomorrow.
Hiking Anyone?
