The bus journey from Queenstown to Mt. Cook was about 4 and a half hours. Mt. Cook is also known by its Māori name which is Aoraki, Mt Cook has some of the most stunning landscapes in New Zealand. The park’s highlights are glacial lakes, rugged mountain ranges and diverse flora and fauna. The mountain also holds great cultural significance for the Māori people because the mountain is considered to be the ancestor of the Māori and there are also several sites of cultural interest in that area that tell the stories of its land and its people.
For me personally the most interesting part of my visit to Mt. Cook was aside from the gorgeous scenery the hotel that we stayed at. We stayed at The Hermitage Hotel which had spectacular views but it also housed The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center(inside the hotel) which highlighted Sir Edmund’s Hillary journey to become the first mountaineer to reach the top of Mount Everest and then devoted the last 50 years of his life to environmental and humanitarian efforts that have made a profound difference to communities in Nepal.
Here are some images from the experience.
I really loved this center outlining Hillary’s life and the saying, ” It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” left a lasting reminder for me to carry on with. I think that it’s great Food for Thought:
89 Terrace Road
Aoraki Mount Cook
Alpine Village, New Zealand
