Having sacrificed the dolphins it was time to see if Mount Cook was worth it. So back on another, though smaller bus from Lake Tekapo off to Mount Cook via Twizle. We stopped off a number of times on the way to Mount Cook to get photographs with it getting ever larger in the distance.[newline] [thumb:1525:l][thumb:1524:l][thumb:1526:l][newline]
[thumb:1527:r]Getting out of the bus I got chatting to Jenna and we decided to go off and tackle the Hooka Valley Trail and see the ends of the glaciers. Quite close to the start of the trail we passed a monument to those that had died climing Mount Cook and other mountains in the area. Fortunately it hasn’t been covered in plaques yet and I hope it stays that way.
The area around the mountains was quite rocky with the perhaps the hardest part of the walk actually the crossing of the two bridges over the river with the high winds blowing along the valley. The mountains over head appeared to be covered in snow stopped in mid flow with ripples that had stopped moving. The water here was very much like at the Fraz Josef glacier, cloudy and full of glacier powder. [thumb:1528:l][thumb:1530:l][thumb:1531:l][thumb:1541:l][thumb:1540:l][newline]
On the way back we stopped at a hut, chatting to an American couple who were travelling round new Zealand. Trying to guess the age of the hut via the graffti was a challenge though I think 1976 was the earliest date I spotted.
Coming back to towards Mount Cook we took a detour up to Kea point to have a look at the end of the other glacier . Climbing up the viewing platform the glacier looks really mucky as if its snow. The only thing that gives it away are the lumps of ice floating in the lake at the end of the glacier. The end of the walk was celebrated by a much deserved cup of tea. Strangely though they had no concept of putting the tea bag into the tea pot.
Driving back it was goodbye to Jenna at Twizle. Arriving back at the Lakeside Lodge, where I was staying at Lake Tekapo, I was pleasently surprised to bump into Lisa again. You just keep meeting the same people again and again on the Magic Bus