Aoraki Mt Cook - South Island, New Zealand

Aoraki Mt Cook is located on SH8, southwest of Fairlie, past the heartland of Mackenzie Country. At 3754 metres high, Aoraki Mt Cook is considered the most spectacular mountain in the Southern Alps and is the tallest mountain in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

The Maori name is Aoraki which means cloud piercer and the English name is Mt Cook. Most times, it is combined to read Aoraki Mt Cook. Mt Cook was named in honour of the famous English sea captain, Captain Cook, in 1851. The Mt Cook summit was scaled for the first time in 1894.

Aoraki Mt Cook serves as the background for the stunningly beautiful glacial lakes of Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The main access to Mt Cook is from the Mount Cook Village at the base of the mountain. This village has grown to cater to the increasing number of tourists visiting this popular destination.

Aoraki Mt Cook Accommodation

Aoraki Mt Cook Village provides spectacular views of the Aoraki Mt Cook National Park. The accommodation facilities here cater to all types of tourists, ranging from campsites to luxury accommodation. The Village has a DOC (Dept of Conservation) Visitors Centre which is the best source of local information on the Park, climate, activities etc.

Aoraki Mt Cook Activities

There are a lot of activities for people of all fitness levels. There are family walks starting from the Village varying from 10 minutes duration to 4 hours. The most famous trail is the Hooker Valley Track. It passes Mueller Glacier through a field of daisies on to the Hooker Glacier beneath Mt Cook.

From the Village, it is a short walk to the glaciers beneath Mt Cook's flanks. The most prominent glacier is the 27 km long Tasman Glacier fed by tumbling icefalls from the heavily glaciated peaks around it.

The Tasman Glacier viewpoint track gives an excellent view of this river of ice. For a more indepth look, there are glacier exploration adventure operators. You can fly on a Mt Cook ski plane and experience a snow landing on a glacier. There are excellent heliskiing packages available for the intermediate skiing enthusiast.

Hermitage Planetarium offers a popular stargazing experience. A visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is a must. Sir Hillary's early training in mountaineering was in the rugged peaks of Mt Cook before he went on to conquer Mt Everest. There are various schools offering mountaineering courses, and for the serious minded there are graded certified mountaineering qualifying exams.

The 700 kms surrounding the peak and extending towards the north and east forms the Aoraki Mt Cook National Park, deemed a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1986. Aoraki Mt Cook is at the heart of the mountain area with gravelly tussock cloaked foothills. The foothills are decked with lilies, daisies and snow gentians in sharp contrast with the icy upper slopes of the mountain.

Aoraki Mt Cook National Park provides a variety of exciting activities. There are various scenic walking trails starting at the Mt Cook Village and going up to the Hooker and Tasman glaciers. Scenic flights are a marvelous way of viewing areas that you cannot reach by foot however these are weather dependent. These popular flights are heavily booked.

Other interesting adventures are fly-in skiing and heli-hiking. This involves a ride in a helicopter, getting dropped off about three quarters of the distance along the walk, then scaling the summit and hiking back to the starting point.

Another great experience is a boat ride on the Tasman Lake where you can see icebergs broken from the glacier drifting around. For those who are more physically active, a guided kayaking trip on the lake below the Mueller Glacier is a fascinating experience. There are experienced guides and gear rental available for trekking, guided heli-hiking and mountain climbing.

There is guided fly-in skiing and snowboarding on the mountains around Tasman Glacier with access provided by planes and helicopters. This makes up for the lack of developed ski fields in the Aoraki Mt Cook National Park. These trips are expensive but the scenery and the thrill of high alpine skiing makes it very worthwhile for intermediate level skiiers and above.

Twizel, 70 kms south of Mt Cook, serves as an excellent base to explore the Aoraki Mt Cook region. Mt Cook is well connected to the east coast through SH83, past Omarama, the gliding haven of the world.

There are decent accommodation and dining options available at Aoraki Mt Cook Village and Twizel. LooknbookNZ can arrange your Aoraki Mt Cook accommodation and Aoraki Mt Cook activities allowing you to concentrate on exploring and enjoying the natural glory of the Aoraki Mt Cook region.