Kiwi Land, Part XII

Location: Mt. Cook (backpackers)

Date: 4 June 2012

Time: 7:50 PM

I took it pretty easy last night.  I was totally adrenaline high from the swing and jetboat, but I eventually calmed down enough to get some sleep.  We left Queenstown around 9 this morning with a new driver, Scratch, for the last few days north back to Christchurch.  The bus is packed now and every seat is taken.

Today’s main stop is Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain at approximately 3,750 meters (12,300 feet).  The peak, and the ones surrounding it in these Southern Alps, is stunning.  It’s capped with deep snow, and a big glacier runs down the face.

We got to Mt. Cook around 2.  Sandra, Ida, Matt (also Swedish) and I took a 1.5 hour walk to Kia Point, a lookout at the base of the glacier where we were basically staring straight up the face of Mt. Cook.  It’s quite breathtaking.

Me and Ida.  Oh, and mountains.

That would be Mt. Cook, folks.

Me and Sandra.  Oh, and more mountains!

Kia Point.

After the hike we saw a short 3D movie about Mt. Cook in the local hotel.  (There isn’t even a supermarket here, but they have a movie theater!)  The film started off explaining the Maori creation story and the legend about how the peaks came to be.  Four Maori people (explorers basically, people of legend) were sailing their boat in stormy seas when it hit a rock and capsized.  They climbed onto the overturned hull.  According to the legend, they froze and turned to stone, eventually becoming the south island of New Zealand.  Their backs formed the Southern Alps, and the leader formed the tallest peak, which us white people call Mt. Cook.  The rest of the film was about the first people to scale the summit and some subsequent attempts, including a really cheesy bit with a plane flying around the mountain.

This hostel is really nice, more like a hotel than a backpackers’ accommodation.  The deal I booked for the room and the 4WD tour I’m taking tomorrow includes a free meal.  The food here is really good; I had salmon (which I miss so much because I haven’t been eating it on my poor student’s budget) with a cold soba noodle salad and a glass of pino noir.  Now it’s an early night tonight because I have to be ready for the 4WD tour at 8:15 tomorrow morning.  Can’t wait!