Day 87, 88, 89 & 90 Wanaka, Mount Cook

Well Christmas has come and gone.  We wanted a few days of rest but we didn’t need to spend it in the campervan.  However that is pretty much what we did for three days.  Oh Oh, Oh No, and then the rains came down.  Three solid days of rain, hard rain, was very welcomed here by the locals as it had been a pretty dry spring.  The large number of people who were camping in tents were not as appreciative.  The rain was appreciated here but caused a lot of flooding in other parts of the country, especially the North Island. 

The fourth day the sun rose and we were out of here.  The destination was Mount Cook and it was a very nice drive which had us following the Clutha River for a short time on Hwy 8A before we headed North East on Hwy 8.  This took us through the Lindis Pass, over the Dunstan Range, past the Clay Cliffs and into Twizel.  Shortly after leaving Twizel we came to Lake Pukaki, turned north on Highway 80 which led us into Mount Cook.

During the drive up we commented that at times we could have been in Southern Alberta and at other times in Southern California or Montana. We just saw it all in a much smaller space.

The Drive

Lindis Pass

 

The Clay Cliffs

In order to get to the Clay Cliffs we had to detour 10 kilometers off the main highway. I am not sure what caused the formation but I would assume they were carved by water as opposed to wind.  We were able to walk into the middle of them through a narrow slot or canyon. 

It was shortly after passing Twizel and turning north that we got our first look of Mount Cook. 



Mount Cook

The white top against the background of the blue sky gave it a majestic look, very impressive.  We quickly stopped at our campsite and then headed directly to Mount Cook.  It was late in the day but we wanted to hike one of the three walks available.  We turned off at Tasman Road and headed into the Tasman Valley.  The parking lot at the end of the road was the headway for a hike into see the Tasman Glacier.  It was not that far of a hike, but as usual, it was uphill.  We lost sight of Mount Cook but it did give us a view of Tasman Glacier and surrounding area.

Tasman Glacier

Large Ice Floe campared to 20 man boat

The Way Up



The Armchair Peaks



It was quite late when we finished our little hike so we drove back to the campsite and called it a night.  Tomorrow we were going to hike a different trail that would, weather permitting, give us a different look at Mount Cook.