KIA ORA!WELCOME TO AORAKI
MT COOK (AAORAKI) NEWZEALAND
MT COOK
UNTOUCHED BY URBANISATION ,IT IS A REGION OF PRISTINE BLUE SKY,EQUALLY BLUE LAKES SURROUNDED BY SOUTHERN APLS MOUNTAIN RANGE.
IN THIS REGION,IS THE LARGEST GLACIER IN NEWZEALAND, TASMAN GLACIER AND TASMAN LAKE FORMED BY THE GLACIER.
ANY TOUR OF NEWZEALAND IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT A VISIT TO MT COOK.
LOACATION:
VILLAGE MT COOK IS SITUATED IN SOUTH ISLAND OF NEWZEALAND.
GETTING THERE:
AS WE TRAVEL THE SOUTH NEWZEALAND ,THERE ARE MAINLY THREE ROUTES TO MT COOK VILLAGE.
1) FROM CHRISTCHURCH:
DISTANCE IS 333 KMS AND TIME IS 4 HOURSAPPROXIMATELY
2)FROM QUEENSTOWM
DIATANCE IS 264 KMS AND TIMES IS 3 HOURS APPROXIMATLEY
3)FROM WANAKA
DISTANCE IS 208 KMS AND TIME IS 2.5 HOURS APROXIMATLEY.
EVERY DRIVE IN NEWZEALAND IS A SCENIC ONE BUT FROM TWIZEL THE LAST 41 KMS TO MT COOK IS A MOST PICTURESQUE JOURNEY ON SHORES OF THE MOST BLUE LAKE EVER SEEN,LAKE PUKAKI. ONE SIDE IS THE VAST BLUE EXPANSE OF LAKE AND AHEAD LOOMS THE SNOW CLAD PEAKS OF SOUTHERNALPS WITH GLIMPSE OF MAJESTIC MT COOK .
DRIVE TO MT COOK
LAKE PUKAKI
A TYPICAL TWO DAY ITINENARY FOR MT COOK:
DAY ONE
ARRIVE AT MT COOK ,EARLY IN THE DAY AND GO STRAIGHT FOR HELIHIKE .THEN SPEND A QUIET EVENING EXPLORING SIR EDUND HILLARY ALPINE CENTER. BOOK THE BIG STAR GAZING TOUR FOR THE NIGHT AND ENJOY THE MOST DARKEST SKY IN THE WORLD ,AND BE DAZZLED BY MILLIONS OF STARS,NEBULAS,AND A GALAXY OR TWO.
DAY TWO
SPEND THE DAY CHOOSING FROM ACTIVITIES LIKE HIKING AND 4WD ARGO RIDES.TAKE EITHER AN EARLY MORNING GLACIER EXPLORER BOAT RIDE IN TASMAN GLACIER LAKE ,AND THEN OPT FOR HALF DAY HIKING OR ARGO RIDES AND LEAVE EARLY NEXT DAY,ORTAKE A FULL DAY HIKE ,DO GLACIER EXPLORERS NEXT DAY.
DAY THREE
TIME TO SAY BYE TO MT COOK AND CONTINUE FURTHER EXPLORING NEWZEALND
ACCOMODATION:
THERE ARE FEW OPTIONS TO STAY AT MT COOK VILLAGE ,BEST BEING THE HERMITAGE HOTEL WHICH ALSO HOSTS THE SIR EDMUND HILLARY ALPINE CENTER ON ITS PREMSIS,BUT STILL THERE ARE FEW OTHER MOTELS AND A YMCA ALSO .
FOR A VEGETRAIN INDIAN TRAVELLER THERE ARE NOT MUCH FOOD OPTIONS AVAILABLE,SO DONT FORGET TO BUY VEGETRAIN FOOD FROM THE YOUR LAST DESTINATION.
ACTIVITIES:
THERE ARE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES WHICH ONE CAN CHOOSE FROM AND ARE LISTED AS BELOW:
1) BIG STAR GAZING AT MT COOK
MT COOK NATIONAL PARK IS DECLARED AS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE AND ALSO IS APPORVED AS ONE OF THE FEW INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY RESERVES.
AS THIS AREA IS FAR AWAY FROM CITY LIGHTS EVEN BY NAKED EYES AN ARM OF MILKY WAY GALAXY IS VISIBLE.AT NIGHT VISIORS ARE TAKEN TO AN AIRFIELD AND BY USE OF BINOCULARS AND TELESCOPES,PLANETS,NEBULAS,STAR CLUSTERS AND EVEN DISTANT GALAZIES ARE SHOWN ,ALONG WITH EASY TO UNDERSTAND NARRATION.
BIG STAR GAZING
2) GLACIER EXPLORES .
TAKE A BOAT RIDE IN THE LAKE TASMAN FORMED BY THE TASMAN LAKE .
IT IS ONE IN KIND TOUR IN THE WORLD AS ITS ONLY ACCESSIBLE LAKE WITH ICEBERGS FLOATING IN IT.THIS TOUR ALSO STARTS FROM HOTEL HERMITAGE AND TAKES US NEAR TO THE TASMAN LAKE. THEN AFTER A HIKE OF 20 MINUTES,WE REACH TASMAN LAKE. THE LAKE IS LITERALLY LITTERED WITH ICEBERGS,AND ONE CAN ACTUALLY TOUCH THESE ICEBERGS AND HOLD SMALL PIECES IN HANDS.
ITS AN AWESOME SIGHT,TASMAN GLACIERS RIGHT AHEAD,ICERBERGS AROUND US AND LATERAL MOARINES, 200MTS HIGH ,SURROUNDING US AND FAR AHEAD SMOW CLAD PEAKS OF SOUTHERN ALPS.
BOATING IN TASMAN LAKE
3) HELIHIKE
AN ADVENTURE UNPARALLEL,STARTING WITH A HELICOPTER RIDE,SPENDING SOME TIME FOR AERIAL VIEWS OF GLACIERS AND THEN ACTUAL LANDING ON ICE FIELD OF GLACIER SOME 1200 MTS HIGH.
AFTER ORIENTATION FROM GUIDE AND PUTTING ON CRAMPONS,START A TWO HOUR HIKE ACROSS THE GLACIER ,AMONGST ICE CAVES,TUNNELS,AND SNOW FORMATIONS AND SMALL STREAMLETS.A MEDIUM LEVEL OF FITNESS IS
REQUIRED FOR HELIHIKE. OR THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR JUST HELICOPTER RIDES WITHOUT LANDINGS ALSO. ONE CAN ALSO OPT FOR SKI PLANES.
HELIHIKE IN TASMAN GLACIER MT COOK
4) MT COOK DAY WALKS
SPEND A DAY IN THE NATIONAL PARK BY TAKING A GUIDED WALKING TOUR IN HOOKER VALLEY. OPT FROM HALF DAY 7 KMS TOUR OR TAKE FULL DAY 14 KMS TOUR WHICH GOES TILL TERMINAL LAKE OF HOOKER GLACIER AND BACK. ON THE WAY ENJOY THE AWESOME VIEWS OF MT COOK,AND LISTEN TO THE INFOMATIVE TALKS OF GUIDE ABOUT FLORA FAUNA AND HISTORY OF THIS VIRGIN PLACE.
HIKING IN MT COOK
5) FOUR WD AND ARGO TOURS
ARGOS ARE ALL TERRAIN 8 WHEELS VEHICLES WHICH CAN TRAVEL ON WATER ICE AND STEEP TERRAIN MAKING THEM IDEAL VEHICLE TO EXPLORE THIS RUGGED TERRAIN. SIMILARLY ONE CAN TOUR THIS TERRAIN ON 4WD ALSO.
ARGO RIDES
AFTER THE UNFORGETABLE EXPERIENCE WITH BEAUTY,ADVENTURE AND AMAZING NATURE AT MT COOK, ITS TIME TO CONTINUE THE JOURNEY AHEAD IN THIS WONDERFUL COUNTRY.
AN APT AND PEACEFUL STOP WOULD BE A DAY SPENT AT TWIZEL OR ON SHORES OF LAKE TEKAPO ,SOAKING IN THE PEACEFUL BLUE SKIES AND EQUALLY BLUE WATERS OF THE LAKE. HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!!!!
LAKE TEKAPO
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