Very cold this morning so we set off before breakfast to warm the van up a bit. We called in to the Information Centre (to use their toilets) and then travelled north along Lake Pukaki towards Mount Cook. Along the way we called into a lookout where, in addition to having breakfast, Nate ran off some energy on the shore of the lake.
It's interesting how the vegetation has changed to an alpine variety. Still quite a lot of sheep however. We wonder what happens to them when it snows in the winter.
We arrived at Mount Cook village just before lunch, and headed to the information centre to find out about White Horse Hill camping area and the Hooker Valley Track, which we hoped to do this afternoon. We also picked up some postcards of what Mount Cook was like on a fine day, as the peaks today are still covered in cloud.
On to the camping area, where we set up camp and had lunch before setting off.
We did spend a bit of time at the Hooker Lake however, as the man in the information centre said we might find some ice from the glacier. Not today however.
The track was in excellent condition. Lots of wooden walkways and three fairly new swinging bridges. At one spot we looked up the Mueller Glacier Valley but couldn't see the glacier (although at one spot along the track we may have caught a glimpse). We could see snow up the slopes however. At Hooker Lake there is a lookout looking out towards Hooker Glacier in the distance. We expected to see an ice river. It was there but was covered completely with gravel, except for the face, where we could see areas of blue ice. On the way back we called into a memorial to those who have lost their lives on Mount Cook, and also Freda's rock (a rock where Freda du Faur had her photo taken after being the first women to climb Mount Cook in 1910). It was a great walk even though most of us were completely exhausted on our return.
Back at camp we had crackers and fruit before cooking dinner (sausages and potatoes - we forgot to buy some peas). We won’t be long out of bed tonight.
