In Awe of Aoraki

Mount Cook, or Aoraki in Maori, is the highest mountain in New Zealand, so it felt right to make a pilgrimage. The mountain is located north of lake pukaki at the end of a 50km stretch of highway. The scenery was great, and every other campervan thought so too judging by the lines of vans on the roadsides and lenses pointed in the direction of the mountains. We parked up at the hermitage hotel and after a quick pie, paid to look around the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. We were in time to watch a film about black holes showing in the planetarium, however it was a little intense! More interesting were the artifacts and information about various alpine explorers, the hermitage hotel and the life of Sir Edmund Hillary. It was in Mount Cook National Park that he climbed his first major peak, aged 20, with Tenzing Norgay, with whom he would go on to climb Everest with. Reading about his life was humbling; a remarkable humanitarian and explorer. In the year we were born, 'Sir Ed’ appeared on the NZ 5 dollar note, although he made sure that Mt Cook be featured rather than Mt Everest.

Inspired to go 'tramping’ and follow in Sir Ed’s footsteps, we set off from the hotel along the boardwalk to Kea Point. Eventually we reached the Mueller glacial lake and admired the beautiful surroundings, including a beautifully framed view of mount cook. Reluctant to leave, we decided to camp at the Department of Conservation campground, White Horse Hill, at the foothills of Mt Sefton. We were hoping for clear skies again but the clouds did not oblige. The setting sun did however conjure up a beautiful sky of orange clouds and dapples of orange on the white snow. Definitely one of the more memorable places we have camped!

A morning shower back in the village set us up for a day of driving. We drove back through Twizel, stopping at a bakery for a cheese scone and a browse around an art fair. We took a short detour to Lake Ohau and then continued on to yet more lakes. The 'NZ frenzy’ blog had recommended a place called 'clay cliffs’ and so we took a short detour down an unsealed road to be met with a hand painted sign demanding $5 to enter as it was private land. This did not look like the entrance to a world class tourist attraction, but we put the money in the tin and walked a short way to the cliffs. It turned out to be one of the best sights yet! Tall yellow rock structures formed a sort of otherworldly canyon landscape. On the way back we stopped to take photos of lupins carpeting the valley floor. We drove over the Lake Benmore dam and skirted past several creepy campsites with empty caravans by the waterfront. Our campsite for the night was in the colourful hamlet of Kurow. The manager explained that a hen party was staying in the main block housing the kitchen and toilets, and that we were free to park wherever. We took advantage of free use of the boat and kayaks to paddle around the waitaki river next to our camping pitch. Hugo was certain that there was a loop track around the reeds, and so like in the owl and the pussycat, we sailed away until we encountered a very low bridge, when I had to bail out and Hugo laid flat in the boat to pass underneath.

Next morning we took a shower, careful to avoid the willy shaped straws that had found their way on to the toilet floor, and made our escape.Read more