Mt Cook walks – a challenge
Aoraki (Mount Cook) is the highest peak in New Zealand with its 3,754 metres. It is situated in the Southern Alps, the chain that goes along the South Island. Mt Cook walks are renowned among tourists and are a real challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki is formed out of three summits that lie east and south of the main divide, the High Peak, Middle Peak and Low Peak. It is bordered to the west by the Hooker Glacier and to the east by the Tasman Glacier. The mountain is located in the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, established in 1953. Together with Mount Aspiring National Park, Westland National Park and Fiordland National Park forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More than 140 peaks with over 2,000 metres and 72 named glaciers are present in the park and cover about 40 percent of the 700 square kilometers of the park. Mount Cook Village is a base camp and a tourist centre that can be the starting point for Mt Cook walks. It is situated at 7 km from one end of the Tasman Glacier and 12 km south of Mount Cook’s summit. A Maori legend says that Aoraki was a young boy, son of the Sky Father, Rakinui. He had three brothers. On a voyage around the Papatuanuku (the Earth Mother), the canoe of the four brothers stranded on a reef and then overthrew. The four brothers climbed on the top of the canoe, but the cold south wind froze them and transformed them into stone. The canoe became the Te Waka o Aoraki, or the South Island, while Aoraki, the tallest brother, became the highest mountain peak and his brothers were transformed into the Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, or the Southern Alps. According to the Ngai Tahu, the most important iwi tribe of the southern region of New Zealand, Aoraki is the most venerated of their ancestors. He represents a link between natural and supernatural and gives the iwi tribe the sense of community. It is very important for tourists who come for Mt Cook walks to know that precipitations are abundant throughout the year, reaching about 4.5 m annually, which means 36% less than the total precipitations of Milford Sound, the wettest area in New Zealand. This situation is due to the westerly winds that are dominant the whole year and bring rainclouds from the area of the Tasman Sea.