The South Island has been amazing!! The North Island was beautiful- the ocean and beaches...but nothing compared to the Southern Alps! Everywhere you look there are snow-capped mountains, HUGE snow-capped mountains. We’ve explored Queenstown, been cruising on two different fiords, and now climbed the tallest peak on the South Isle. This trip has been amazing!
We woke up Saturday morning nestled in our YHA-cabin, parked right at the base of Mt. Cook, snow blanketing the ground outside. We then had our morning cookies and took off trekking towards the TALL mountain, 3,754 meters tall. First crossing a small creek, then up the mountain we went. UP, UP and UP the mountain we went…UP and UP…STAIRS. The ENTIRE way, I’m talking like, straight up the mountain, and this was a “2 hour return” trip. And up those stairs is the only option and then straight back down, so you can just imagine how many stairs there were- quite the experience. But when we all finally reached the top, the view was worth it. We could see the small village we had stayed in down below, and the mountains around us didn’t seem to be quite as tall anymore. And the snow around us was breathtaking; literally, the air was much thinner up there! Yeah, the trek was definitely worth it, now I can say “I have climbed Mt. Cook in New Zealand!”
Stephanie
