Travel: A magical ascent in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Dylan du Ross, from Hawke’s Bay, is sharing his travel experiences around New Zealand.
An experience like no other awaited me.
Yes, in the last few months I've seen beautiful beaches, ice capped mountains, and everything in between. But I had a feeling that the Aoraki National Park was going to be something else entirely.
Two calm shades of blue were proof of how effortless it was for nature to get me off my seat. The ocean and the sky. Nothing else. So simple, yet so elegant.
A few trees dressed in golden garments stood in front, posing for the cameras. They helped assure us we were in a place of miraculous wonders and that we won’t be disappointed. Our path to Aoraki continued.
A few mountains to the right of us were playing hoola hoop with clouds, an opening act for what followed. We went around a corner. No words at all would be the best description of what we saw. I couldn’t justly portray the marvel that this mountain range bestowed upon you. Add in the fact that there is also flatland with no livestock or orchards on it, and you have something truly special.
Our first experience of Mt Cook was the Hooker Lake Walk, which quickly led you to a closed bridge. Not the start we were looking for. Embarrassment soon followed as Maggie and I walked on what we thought was another track, but eventually turning out not to be. Hundreds of deathly stares lasered in our direction as we made our way back to the trail. With my head dropped at my feet, we went back to the car park that was doubling as our home for the next two nights.
Clear skies and a solid bowl of porridge was the ideal start for today's hike up Mount Olivier. One day when I have a spare $10,000, I may attempt Aoraki itself, but at this rate that's a very long way away.
An 8.40am start meant we’d already be on our journey when the sun rose over the mountains. But with 2200 steps to begin with, it felt more like we were rising to the sun, not the other way around.
At 9am we see it. Usually I’d talk about how the sun would colour in the surroundings, in this case it just highlighted how white everything was, with a tinge of pink, I guess. For me, it was just as surreal. Eventually the steps were over and we hit Seally Tarns which is located halfway to the Muellar Hut and about two-fifths of the way to Mount Olivier. We stopped to take pictures. None of them would make the cut.
After an absolute scramble up an icy, slippery, scree slope we reached Muellar Hut. 1800m never felt so small. We were at over four times the height of Te Mata Peak, yet being dwarfed by surrounding mountains. The hut itself was packed, at least 50 hikers had made the trip around the same time as us, leaving no room for a seat outside. So instead of looking at astonishing views whilst eating our simple lunches, I read up on how Edmund Hillary opened the hut in 2003. No doubt everyone outside has no idea about that. The ascent continued.
It was a sketchy climb. Huge drops either side, patches of snow with no bottom, no track and perilous rocks to walk/crawl on. I became envious when a man with the longest legs I’ve ever seen raced past us; stepping over gaps that I wouldn’t dream about. The first of three avalanches happened close by, a thunderous rumble shook the ground. This just keeps getting better. Eventually the summit was ours, and wow. Just wow. I'll let the photos describe what I was seeing.
After visiting Fiordland the image of a glacier river carving through mountains was inconceivable, and yet here I am, witnessing the process right in front of my eyes, in a singlet, getting sunburnt, on top of a mountain. Up on top of Mount Olivier was so magical, the thought of heading back down to reality was almost depressing. But it had to be done. The descent began.
My snowball hits Maggie square on the back. The least impressed face in history hit me back. I think I lost that one. Regret followed me for the next hour until it was distracted by my favourite bird, the Kea. While the cheeky parrot took the spotlight we managed to slip in front of a flock of hikers. You wouldn’t believe how much of a celebrity Kea are up here. After a slide down a scree slope and a walk down a few thousand fleets steps, we were back on ground level. It’s just not the same here. Mountain blues hit. I just wish everybody got to witness how beautiful some of these places are.
With Aoraki completed, it was time to move on.
