Clearly we've gotten to know each other a little too well
Driving on towards Mt. Cook we passed Lake Pukaki as well, which was even more light blue and silty than the last. We eventually found out that this was because the lakes are fed by glacier runoff, which makes all the water in the area a really stunning color. Soon we made it to Mt. Cook village, checked out their really nice visitor center, and figured out what we were going to do in our two days there.
First view of Mt. Cook
Super cool visitor center. If my camera was better you could see that Mt. Cook was directly outside the window - what cool design to frame it!
We only had a few hours of light left so we headed out on a short hike to Kea Point. This was gorgeous, with a great view of Mt. Cook and a glacier and glacier lake in the foreground. From there we climbed up one of the valley sides on the Sealy Tarns track, which gave us an even cooler vantage point for the scenery. Unfortunately we hit snow before we could get over the ridge and see Mueller Lake, but it was still really pretty and a nice easy day for those of us who are still recovering and possibly a little burnt out on hiking (ie me).
Mt. Cook and glacial lakes in the foreground
Highest point of our hike - if we'd spent another hour hiking in snow we would have got to the lakes but decided it wasn't worth wet feet because the view was already so amazing.
We camped at a nice campground nearby, complete with toilets that flushed and a building (with lights!) to cook and hang out in. We enjoyed the clear night sky as always – you can see the Milky Way from almost everywhere in NZ, it’s incredible – and hoped for a sighting of the Southern Lights but had no such luck. It was a really cold night complete with frost on our tents, and apparently I stayed the warmest out of everyone, which is a first! Thanks mom for the sleeping bag I stole from our basement, it’s getting plenty of use. Jenn forgot her sleeping bag so Zak volunteered to sleep in the car so she could use his stuff, and I did not envy his noble but unfortunate gesture after hearing how cold he was all night. Still, we woke up to another gorgeous sunny day! (Have I sufficiently rubbed it in that it’s spring here yet?)
The hike that we’d wanted to do our second day was closed because of bridge repairs, and not wanting to cross the icy river on foot, we headed for the Blue Lakes instead. We weren’t very impressed at first but when we came over the rise to the glacier view we were met with the most breathtaking scenery we’d had yet. You could see the Tasman Glacier winding down a valley surrounded by mountains, and at the end of the glacier a huge light blue lake began that was full of icebergs that must have broken off the glacier. It was really incredible and totally worth the trip, even though we just did a quick little excursion.
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