Mt. CookOMG! What a great decision to stay at Mt. Cook. It was John’s decision, actually. Originally, I’d only had us visiting there during the day and staying somewhere else that night but John thought he’d like to stay longer so we booked 3 nights in a cottage at the visitor center near Mt. Cook. Unlike Mt. Rainier where you actually drive up to the mountain and hike on the mountain itself, Mt. Cook is actually several miles away from Mt. Cook Village. But that doesn’t distract one bit from the magnificence of the area and the beauty of the mountain. In fact, it’s nice to be a ways away from the mountain because you can actually see it.
I haven’t even described the drive up to the mountain that includes a stunning view of Lake Pukaki which is a glacial lake formed from the melt off of the glaciers on Mt. Cook. The lake is a color that is almost indescribable. It’s an almost florescent green with a hint of blue. The color is the result of the mineral deposits from the glaciers. The lake is very long so you have a good look at the lake with Mt. Cook in the foreground for miles. A postcard perfect picture, indeed!
It’s at Mt. Cook where I had my first “near death” experience or at least it felt like I was going to die!
Mt. Cook boasts several great hikes, some short 1 hour easy jaunts, some are more lengthy, and still others are more arduous and suitable for more fit or skilled types. Yup, you guessed it. We did the skilled hike to Mueller Hut which is “easily” reached after 3-4 hours of uphill rock climbing! Of course, good hiking gear is a necessity. Things such as a hat to keep the sun off the head and help prevent heat/sun stroke, good hiking boots, extra clothes in case the weather changes and plenty of water.. So off we went, me in my running shoes and no hat, John all geared up and ready to tackle the mountain and not enough water, in hind sight, to make the trip. But I didn’t know that yet.
It was a gorgeous day with nothing but blue sky, hardly a breeze (wind is a steady companion to the mountain, we’re told), and excitement about our journey ahead. Mueller Hut is a destination that can be reserved if you want to stay the night. Others can camp out near there, though it’s mostly rocks so I don’t know how comfortable it would be!
The trail started off like most, a gradual incline, nothing too difficult. All was well for the first 2 hours or so. Huffing and puffing up the hill wasn’t so bad, though it was pretty much stair steps or rock climbing. On the way, we met a 70+ year old retired Kiwi couple and struck up a conversation with them. They’d climbed the hill about 20 times over their lifetime and have seen many changes, most noticeably the receding of the glaciers that are visible from the hiking path. If only I could climb like this couple when I’m 70 years old! The man and John nearly sprinted up the hill and I did my best to stay ahead of the woman, if for no other reason than to prove that I was able to stay ahead of a 70 year old woman! It was close but I did it!
Finally, after about 2 ½ hours, we reached Sealy Tarns which is a pretty little plateau on the way to Mueller Hut. It’s a grassy area with two small glacial lakes and a beautiful view of Mt. Cook. There is a trail sign when you reach Sealy Tarns that is provided by the NZ but someone had scratched in the sign an all too understandable sentiment…it read, “F’n Finally!” A sentiment I agreed with. I was pooped at this point but there was the Mueller Hut yet to see so off we went. I was game, or so I thought I was. Up, Up, Up….more rocks and more steps but now we were out of the bush and the mountain was even more visible. Beautiful!
We climbed for what seemed an eternity. My legs were weak and like noodles from the climb and the sun was beating down all the while. More than once, I wanted to stop and turn around realizing I’d bit off more than I could chew especially in running shoes! But John, always the motivator, encouraged me to continue and so I did. Finally, after what seemed another eternity, we’d reached the “summit”. The view was breathtaking and, now that I have some days to reflect on the effort, it was worth all the climbing to get to it. We rested there for a while but still had 40 minutes of rock traversing before we could actually get to the, now infamous, Mueller Hut. No rest for the wicked, we set off to reach our destination. Finally, there it was. Not much to speak of and, in fact, not much of a view from the hut as far as I could tell so, I figured I could say we’d reached it, even though we hadn’t actually touched the building. Seeing it was enough. I simply had no more energy to get to it, especially since I knew we had to get down the mountain yet and I was plum pooped!
We’d climbed about 3200 feet in 4 hours time to an altitude of about 5800 feet.
We rested on a rock and had lunch before setting out down the hill that just a couple of hours earlier, I thought I could not conquer.
Don’t think going down was any easier because it wasn’t. Fatigue really was the worst part. Knowing that tired feet and minds can cause one to make a wrong move and tumble down the hillside in a blink of an eye, most of my energy was spent focusing on where I was placing my feet and trying not to fall. Three and one-half hours later (7 ½ hours total hiking time), we emerged from the bush where we started our trip that morning.
So, that was my first near death experience. The climb was the most difficult climb I’ve ever done and I did it in running shoes! My very next purchase will be hiking boots!
Too pooped to cook, we ate a wonderful dinner at the Mt. Cook lodge that evening and feel into bed exhausted but happy for the perfectly beautiful day the mountain had provided.
Near death experience #2. - Sore and tired from the previous day’s hike, we wanted to get in one more hike while on the mountain and there is an easier 3-4 hour hike that didn’t require much climbing and leads you to the lake at the end of Hooker Glacier. This morning, we decided to eat the breakfast provided with our lodging up at the café. We normally eat in the room with our own food but thought we’d try it. It was a buffet style breakfast with granola, fruit, toast…all the normal continental breakfast foods. I took my usual granola (or muesli) and fruit and John filled his plate and we tucked into the breakfast excited about the hike ahead. The weather had turned a bit windy this day but we were till up for it. Near the end of breakfast, I noticed a tingling in my throat and ears that is the sure sign that I’ve eaten buckwheat. I’d eaten ¾ of the bowl of granola and hadn’t noticed anything so I’m thinking it was a rancid nut or something like that and not buckwheat but who knows. I stopped eating and waited a few minutes for the tingly sensation to subside and we left the table to prepare for the hike ahead.
About 20 minutes into the hike, I started getting a headache. I thought it was because I was carrying the pack and it just wasn’t situated on my back well. Then, I noticed the bottoms of my feet were itching really bad. John took the pack and I noticed the palms of my hands were itching now and I started coughing like I do when I’ve inhaled buckwheat dust. My lungs felt like they were filling with fluid and the more I coughed the more they filled. I decided I was having an allergic reaction to something so I took an antihistamine that we carry with us, mostly because John’s allergic to bee stings and we need to have it available if he gets stung. We kept walking, hoping that the antihistamine would start working and I would start to feel better. It didn’t feel like it was and, by now, my whole body was itching and I was welting up all over from scalp to sole. I decided I needed to turn back and see if I could find a doctor at the lodge. I was a little freaked out by the lungs feeling like they were full of fluid. I guess this must be what it feels like to have severe asthma. So, we turned around. At the campground, about 45 minutes into the hike) we stopped and I went to the bathroom and rested on a bench for a few minutes. I was scratching and scratching and scratching but I thought I was feeling better. We rested a few more minutes and I decided I was ok to do the hike. The anti-histamine had kicked in finally. Whew. I sure didn’t like that! But I’m glad we continued to the Hooker Glacier lake to see the glacier up close. Just 3-4 days after we left, a huge chuck of the glacier parted and sent a tidal wave of 3 meters down the lake.
Lake Tekapo
We had to leave Mt. Cook and head to our next destination which was Lake Tekapo only about an hour from Mt. Cook. This would be an easy day of driving so we stopped frequently and took pictures of the mountain as we left with the beautiful blue/green Pukaki Lake in the foreground. We stopped at the information center there at Lake Pukaki and inquired about having a gliding experience. John and I have both said we’d like to do that some day and we’d found out that this area of NZ is world renowned for gliding. We booked an hour each for the following day. Yup…near death experience #3. OMG!
The wind had been picking up and the glider operator suggested that we call in the morning around 10am to see what the best time for flying would be that day. So off we went to Lake Tekapo for the night and went to bed excited about the opportunity to fly in a glider plane.
February 9
We were up and out the door early to get to an internet café and deal with emails before we were to call to find out when we should be there for our glider flights. At 9:30am, John received a call from the glider operator saying sooner rather than later would be good as the winds were picking up and would likely be worse in the afternoon. So, we scrambled back to our place and jumped in the car for the hour drive to get to the glider plan operator. We arrived around noon.
Once there, we were met by the owner and 2 of the pilots who would be flying John and me that day. My pilot was an older Swedish man who is a glider instructor for 6 months while in NZ and 6 months while in Britain where he lives the other 6 months of the year. He basically flies all the time! He had a great sense of humor and assured me that he had read the book that morning on how to fly a glider plane and he thought he could do it…as long as he could open his eyes once we go in the air, we’d be fine. I chose to believe he was joking.
John’s pilot (because there are only 2 seats per plane we had to go up in separate planes) was an American young man about 25 years old who was the captain of the U.S. Glider Team. I didn’t know we had a Glider Team. He seemed nice and portrayed confidence. I pictured John and him doing loop-de-loops in the air like teenagers racing their hotrods.
So off we went to get strapped in to our respective planes (I had to wear a parachute but John didn’t…hmmm…maybe my pilot was right and he HAD read the book just that morning?) My pilot instructed me on the controls I would have available to me in the plane and what to do if he parachuted out of the plane…yup, that’s right, he suggested I should follow him! Joker. He also fitted me with a barf bag. I told him I’d try very hard not to have to use it. In hindsight, the fact that they gave John and me an anti nausea pill before we strapped in was a dead giveaway that we were in for a ride.
Before we knew it we were hooked up to our tow plane and in the air. No second thoughts now. Geesh. Who’s idea was this anyway!
What a strange experience it was to be seated in the front of this tiny plane, the real pilot behind me with limited vision….go figure… and the tow plane just a little in front of me being knocked up and down by the wind gusts. The visual effect was a little unsettling but my pilot was really great and talked about the process the whole way, always assuring me that he’d open his eyes soon and we’d be ok. Just a little way up into the sky we let go of the tow rope and were gliding! It was very very bumpy but we circled and circled and climbed the ridges to get the lift we needed to get above the wind gusts that were knocking us around and into the Lee wind which is a very fast and very smooth type of wind, or so I was told. The Lee wind is found at varying heights so you have to just search for it and climb until you find it, all the while analyzing the cloud shapes to see what the wind is doing. You really have to be a wind expert to fly one of these things because without it, you don’t have much of a chance to stay afloat.
Anyway, we circled and ridge climbed and my pilot did his best to keep my mind occupied but, alas, I could not keep my stomach and away it went. Right into the barf bag provided! I was glad I had it, as was he, I’m sure. Soon John and his pilot were up in the air and circling, too. My pilot, knowing that circling can cause sickness, tried not to circle much but used ridge lift to get us up higher. John’s pilot, however, didn’t ridge climb very much and just circled and circled to gain altitude. I found out later that John, too, lost his lunch. I repeat “Whose idea was this?”
At 9500 feet, we finally found that Lee wind and, sure enough, it was smooth as silk up there. What a difference. We were traveling about 90-110 knots with little effort. Unfortunately, the visibility was poor (an unusual occurrence) because the smoke from the fires in Australia had made their way to NZ. We could smell the smoke. By now, we had been in the air for an hour and ten minutes and it was time to go back. Before doing so, it was my turn to fly the plane. OMG! So I took the handle and the pedals and with clear instruction from my pilot, made the plane turn and descend or ascend. What a thrill! The plane was so responsive and easy to fly. Of course, I knew my pilot was behind me with his hands and feet ready to take over in an instant but it was still fun to think I could fly.
No, it was time to get down on the ground but, first, we had to fly back into the windy area of the sky. The pilot took the controls and we descended pretty rapidly. We were on the ground safely before I knew it. What a ride. At that point, I wasn’t too sure it was worth it to get so sick and queasy but now I’m glad we did it.
Christchurch
With our feet firmly planted on the ground again, we were off to our next destination back on the East coast. First, a short stop over in Christchurch to have lunch with Laura and then on Akaroa, a peninsula near Christchurch that was colonized by the French in the 1800’s. The weather had started to change by now and rain was always a threat. We were able to get a good hike in at Akaroa but the next 3 days were rainy and wet. NZ is in a draught period so the rain was welcome. Not so fun for visitors, I suppose, but good for NZ. With the rain putting a damper on our hiking plans, we decided to head on into Nelson. Nelson boast the most sun in the South Island so we figured we’d have better chance for good weather there and, failing that, at least would have the city to do things if hiking was out of the picture.
So here we stay for a week or so. We’ve got a 72 km hike scheduled for February 28, March 1 and 2 in Queen Charlotte Sound. This is fiord just east of Nelson about 2 hours and boasts memorable vistas and hikes for all levels. The first day will be about 26.5km, the second day is a 24.5km hike and the third day will be an easy 20km. The nice thing is that we have accommodations each night in a motel along the way and our travel bags will be delivered to each destination for us so we don’t have to lug them along on the hike. It would be much more difficult to pack along all our food and supplies for the full 3 days. I’m grateful for the service. Stay tuned for more on that adventure. I’m sure I’ll have tales to tell!
Meanwhile, we’ll spend the time leading up to our 72km adventure hike, in the Nelson area doing some hikes and sight-seeing nearby.
In fact, the weather has cleared up a little so we decided to go for a hike yesterday. This hike was a wee 16km (about 9+ miles) and are both pooped but it felt really good to get out and stretch our legs a bit.
Today, Monday, is business day. We have shopping, internet, and banking to do so I’ll get this posted hopefully.
More soon!
