Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in the Southern Alps range, 3720 meters (12204 feet). Interestingly, the mountains are growing. The Southern Alps are growing about as fast as your fingernails.

Aoraki Mount Cook is an extremely dangerous mountain to climb due to treacherous weather that can change very quickly. The mountain can see up to 200 km (124 mph) winds and temps of negative 50 degrees Celsius (-58 F). This summer, already six persons have gone missing. If it was snowing with 200 km winds, it would feel like shards of glass hitting the skin.

The glaciers are melting and lakes that were not present 40 years ago are now rapidly enlarging. Glacier water appears blue because of "glacial flouring". The rock and it's minerals are actively mixed in the water as it flows down the mountains.

The lake is called Tazman Lake, named after the Explorer that first discovered New Zealand. Captain Cook was actually the first explorer to set foot on NZ. But Tazman was the first to spot it. When Tazman's ship arrived, he felt so victoriously happy that he fired off his blank cannons, making tremendous noise and scaring the Maori people. They had never seen a ship before. Tazman invited the natives on board, and they came on and clubbed everyone on the ship to death. It was another 100 years later that Captain Cook arrived. He brought a Polynesian translator with him and fared much better. He was the one who brought the rabbit and stoat, those pesky predators that eat the land birds. It was the Aussies that brought over the possum and now there are more possum in NZ than sheep. Here they call possum "New Zealand speed bump". Land mammals are not native to NZ; only birds were here originally. And NZ is big on protecting and keeping native plants and birds. It's very controversial here, but poisons including 1080 (Agent orange used in the Vietnam war) is used to kill rabbit, possum, stoat and ferrets. It's evidently a horribly cruel way to die, but NZ are hellbent on getting rid of these predators while protecting the sheep, goats, deer and cattle. There are warning signs everywhere even in the national park warning humans not to eat the little green pellets.

Due to landslides and failing rocks, the valleys are not as deep as they once were. It is estimated that the valleys are 500 meters higher than they once were.

There is a school and village inside Mt Cook National Park.

Arriving I found that it was much warmer than I had expected at that altitude. With the bright sun and hiking straight up the mountain to the lake viewing area, I was ready to shed my clothes and jump in the cold water. And I would have it I had worn my water shoes or sketcher sandals.

I first hiked up to the Tazman viewpint which is a steep 20 minute walk up the mountain with a gorgeous view of Tazman Lake below.

Walking back down, I took the Tazman Lake walk, which is another 20 minute mostly flat hike to the water. There was no one else at the lake besides a young honeymooning couple from LA that followed my lead. They were married a couple of weeks ago in Key Largo and rented the whole Coconut Palms hotel, all 19 rooms.

I couldn't see the bottom of the lake and it was quite rocky, so getting in barefooted wasn't an option, but I did take off my Merrils and put my feet in the water. It was refreshing.Read more