Aoraki/Mt. Cook

OK!  I truly think I’ve run out of superlatives!!  This place is truly amazing.  We think we have an area figured out and whammo!  It’s not at all what we expected! 

Last night we decided we’d leave in the morning and head to Mt. Cook Village.  I really thought it would be a nice day drive, but we decided to make a reservation at the village just in case!  WOW!  Glad we did.  We got a late start in the morning, but drove through places we really thought looked like Colorado.  There are lots less trees and it’s very open.  The views are incredible and it feels like home!  Then we get closer to Mt. Cook and there it is!  This gorgeous turquoise lake with the mountain in the background!  The lake is HUGE!  We keep driving and there we are in the middle of all these incredible glaciers just hanging off the mountains and we’re getting closer and closer.  

Of course we had to take a hike, so we went on a 3 hour hike to the lake at the base of Mt. Cook.  It’s so amazing and there are glaciers everywhere.  We stayed at the lake, contemplating life, kind of hoping for a little earthquake to see an avalanche and just resting.  

We hiked back and headed to our hostel.  It looks like an old ski area resort.  I’m not really sure what it is, but we have this amazing view and we can see Mt. Cook peeking on the edge.  From the bar, where we had a drink, you can see Mt. Cook.  We fixed a delicious omelette with fresh veggies and are sitting on the porch enjoying the view!  

Tomorrow, we will hike to Sealy Tarns, high up on a moraine with supposedly great views of glaciers and then head back to Wanaka where we are staying again.  We are having a hard time deciding what to do – mountain biking, hiking, checking out LOTR sites (which are many in this area), but whatever we decide, it will be great!!  Help – I need my thesaurus!