Mount Cook
After giving our car a propper run in (the wonder that is a
Nissan Sunny!) we arrived at Mount Cook. Our route took us past the brilliantly
blue lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki. The
first day was a bit of a wash out so we headed to the Edmund Hillary museum
which was worth a visit. Andy didn’t
even know who he was....much to learn! Day
two turned out to be a stunner so we headed up the Hooker Valley on a good half
day hike. This was definately worth the
trek with swing bridges and glaciers gallore. Stunning views of course!
Upon gettting back to the car we thought that after four
hours of walking maybe we’d do a bit more, so headed towards a hike called the Sealy
Tarns (which turned out to be two little ponds). But intrigued by the views we
set off on the climb up the mountain side. And by climb I mean scrambling up what was the
most steep and rock strewn path I’ve dealt with. After 700 meters of climbing, much grumbling,
and both of us close to passing out with sun stroke we reached the top. Another
hour up it turns out that there’s the Mueller Hut where you can stay overnight,
but alas we hadn’t planned ahead (something that the people heading down the
path said was the most amazing place they’d ever stayed); next time maybe...
After seeing Mount Cook and the surrounding scenery up close
we decided it was definitely beer o’clock so set off back towards civilisation,
or as close as it got this remote. One
point of note for New Zealand; the beer is really good (by which I mean lager),
better than most in the UK I’d say – ales excluded of course. To accompany this great beer the food seems to
evolve entirely around steak, burgers and salmon. Not bad at all! For anyone searching for the best chicken burger
known to man try the Mountaineers Cafe; stuffing, cranberries and roast chicken
in a burger – words don’t do it justice!
