We awoke from our abode earlier than any man should. Ashley had noticed that the clouds that bore down us the night before had all but disappeared this morning. And noticed it early...
Alls the better though, fore we had decided to get an early start to the day since we had a long journey ahead of us. After a bit of reorganizing our ship, the NZ Ford, we set sail once again - this time our destination being the wondrous Mount Cook - the very mountain where Sir Edmund Hillary prepared for his historic climb up Mount Everest (so our guide book informed us).
The drive up to the mountain was as breathtaking as any that we have had on our journey thus far....a crystal clear day provided a view across Lake Pukaki to the towering mountain a couple hours away. It also provided a wonderful area to stop and document our advance on the trip.
Continuing along the freeway lanes, we rounded a bend before the mighty mountain that provided first class views of
a magnificent glacier slowly descending the mountain tips before us.
a magnificent glacier slowly descending the mountain tips before us.
The Southern Alps, as the locals call them, house many glaciers and this would be but our first sighting of such a natural phenomenon. Beautiful nonetheless and meriting of more documentation. We still eagerly await our journey to actually climb the Franz Josef Glacier, but that remains an adventure for another day.
We arrive at the town centre of Mt. Cook and find the locals to be quite knowledgeable and hospitable, pointing us in the direction of our goal - a quick hike up through the mountainside such that we can view both the glaciers and the peak of Mt. Cook from a single vantage point.
The hike itself was quite enjoyable as the day proved to be the most beautiful thus far in New Zealand. Blue skies and nigh a cloud in the sky, the hour long march to the glacier side was more warm than cold, though an occasional icy breeze swept by us - catching me slightly off guard.
The view from the top was all that we'd bargained for - a stunning array of ice, lake, and mountain peak. By this point, it was midday (though, in this land the day does not end until 8 or 9 in the evening) - so the glaciers were emitting a beautiful mist to the skies as the ice evaporated to the warming suns rays.
While this area could be considered a beauty in itself, it was but a stop along our path. We returned to our vessel to continue along our journey southwards - towards the lakeside town of Wanaka.
Our initial goal was to drive past Wanaka, through the town of Cardrona, and arrive ultimately in Queenstown, however as we sailed into Wanaka, the sight of the lake captivated us.
We followed our instincts to a beautiful lakeside hotel - a true 5 star resort. Lakeside views, restraunts, tennis courts, and golf course. They were very kind to aide us towards a local campsite.
About 11 clicks outside of the town centre, we arrived at the Glendoe Bay campgrounds - a wonderful location to call our home for the night. Arriving at around 19:30 local time, there was still an hour our so of light for us to setup camp and pitch our tent - a mere stones through away from the lakeside shore, and a good few car lengths away from anyone to call 'neighbor'.
We chose a singular spot - an area right of the beachy shore that through the breaking trees could view the tip of Mount Cook along the ridge across the lake. This would be our stopping point for the evening - a place that provided an opening through our trusted tent that viewed trees, beach, lake and then mountain - with nary a person in sight.
End log.
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