Mount Cook | The South Island of New Zealand December 2015

To Aoraki / Mount Cook
This route passes through Hampden, and past Ben Ohau. The area abounds with lakes, mountains and hydro-electricity plants.

Aoraki / Mount Cook
is located in the centre of the South Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand.) Mount Cook is its highest mountain although erosion is reducing its height.

Tasman Glacier (with video)
The Tasman Glacier is the largest and longest of the glaciers in New Zealand at a length of about 17 kms, up to 4 kms wide and 600 m thick.

Aerial Photos - courtesy of Vicki and Crystal
A big thank you to the delightful twins who have allowed me to include their aerial photos in this web site.
I have included all of the landscape photos because they are all quite thrilling.

Tasman Glacier Video
This short video gives a glimpse into the excitement of being up so close to the Tasman Glacier, amidst the icebergs and the thunderous cracking of the glacier.

Mount Cook (According to Wikipedia)

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height since 2014 is listed as 3724m (12,218 ft), having earlier been measured at 3754m. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.
The mountain is in the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, in the Canterbury region. The park was established in 1953 and along with Westland National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park forms one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The park contains more than 140 peaks standing over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and 72 named glaciers, which cover 40 percent of its 700 square kilometres (170,000 acres).
The settlement of Mount Cook Village is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain. It is 7 km from the end of the Tasman Glacier and 12 km south of Aoraki / Mount Cook's summit.
Aoraki/Mount Cook receives substantial orographic precipitation throughout the year, as breezy, moisture-laden westerly winds dominate all year-round, bringing rainclouds from the Tasman Sea with them.
The severe weather is due to the mountain's jutting into powerful westerly winds of the Roaring Forties which run around approximately 45°S latitude, south of both Africa and Australia. The Southern Alps are the first obstacle the winds encounter after South Africa and Australia, having moved east across the Southern Ocean.