by KC2RIY, on March 3rd, 2011 (
New Zealand)
The alarm went off at 7am and many minutes later we got up, breakfasted and were off to Mount Cook National Park. It was quite chilly but the sky was blue and the winds had died down.
As we approached the park we saw better views of Mount Cook and we made frequent stops to take pictures. Ominously the winds were picking up as we got closer. We could also see clouds pouring over the divide although they did disperse as they came towards us.
Our first stop was the information office where we inquired into the weather so we could make our final decision as to where to go. Winds were a big concern and a kilometer above us where we had hoped to go they were predicted to be around 90km/h. The clouds pouring over the divide would also limit the views from Mueller Hut where we had intended to climb to so we reluctantly looked nearer to.
We decided to spend the morning over near Tasman Glacier / Lake. We drove over to the car park there and headed up the foot path. We first headed to the blue lakes. They turned out to be 5 in number and green in colour. The winds which had been pretty strong leading up to the fork in the path died off as we approached the lakes so we explored around all of them before heading back to our next option.
This was up the the glacier view high up on one of the more recent terminal moraines. From there we had an excellent view of Tasman Lake and the very dirty glacier. In the lake were some large bergs which had, we understand, carved off as a result of the recent catastrophic earthquake that had damaged Christchurch so badly.
The final path took us to the lake itself where the people taking boat rides had to join their boats. From here we could see the log jam of ice at the exit of the lake which was not visible from our earlier vantage point. The lake was very shallow here so the bergs had to crowd up and melt their way through.
That was enough for the morning. We headed back to the information center to eat our lunch and decide our next steps.
Our decision took us out to Kea point where we got to see the base of the Mueller Glacier and some excellent views. Very close to here was the trail up to the Sealy Tarns and then onto the Mueller Hut. We had an option to climb up to the tarns. We’d delayed our decision on this until the last. Despite our earlier desires to see the fantastic views from up above the wind and clouds coming over the divide still made it look a bit of a gamble.
In the end we decided to wrap up the day with the three hour return trip to Hooker Lake (passing over Stocking Stream – I liked it). This turned out to be an excellent hike. The previous days torrential rains had created a lot of water activity. The winds blew and blew and they blew. There were two suspension bridges over the raging glacial river along the way. They swung and swayed in the 50-70 km/h winds. Every now and then, particular around the second bridge, the winds would double their intensity picking up the river and throwing it in the air. Unfortunate souls (not us) in the area or one the bridge would take a soaking. All very spectacular from a distance.
Beyond the second bridge was a long leg to the lake. We had to traverse streams only passable by long periods of rock hopping. Broad walks had been laid out on barren areas but it turned out hard to stay on them as the wind tried it’s best to push us off.
When we reached Hooker Lake Helen stopped having trouble with her feet while I pushed on a little further to get a better shot of the glacier there. On my way back an extended gust of wind nearly blew me off my feet and, ahead of me, I could see it caused Helen to abandon her post and head to somewhere sheltered. With the wind behind me it didn’t take long for me to catch up – at some points it was impossible for me to stop.
We were soon on our way back. It was beginning to cool down and the wind was strengthening. Crossing the bridges was a trial but they were build well and we made it. We decided to visit a memorial which we seen but passed by on the way up. It turned out to be a somber moment as it was covered in plaques of all the souls who had gone into the nearby mountains but not returned.
We made one final stop to the information center as it had some excellent exhibits which we’d passed by during our earlier visits in case the weather closed in on us. Once done we headed back to Twizel. We took a few more pictures of Mount Cook on the way out as they were even better than the views on the way in.
Although we didn’t get to do the hike we wanted we’ve had an excellent day. It’s been a while since we put in a full day hiking. We feel exhausted but lifted from our experience. We’ve seen some of nature at her finest and seen just a little of her raw power.
We’ll continue moving north tomorrow. Weather forecasts are a little fluid so we have no specific destination in mind. We reckon we’ll just head north, keeping west of Christchurch if we get that far, and see where we’ll end up.