In search of snow

After filling the car with “juice” I drove north. Today we were going to try to get to Mt Cook. It is impossible to make a decision about such a trip the night before – Mt Cook has a habit of hiding behind clouds and if it was to be cloudy here it would definitely be cloudy in the heart of South Island. So with only wispy Cirrus clouds above our heads we crossed our collective fingers and set off in search of New Zealand’s most famous mountain.
As we drove along we were covering much of the same area that we had crossed on the way from Christchurch but since we were heading in the opposite direction and the sun was blazing overhead, everything looked quite different and we just had to stop to take a few photos along the way. Why not? This holiday is a photographic holiday!
When the snow melts in the mountains the raging rivers wash down thousands of boulders – it is almost snow time again so the rivers are very tame now. They are in waiting. I love the way the remaining water threads its way along many little rivers within the river bed. So when we crossed one of the rivers – the Ahuriri River – I pulled the car over and both Colin and I took pictures. Thanks to Colin taking a shot of the name of the river I have a record of it; otherwise I would have forgotten it.

1/125 sec f/11 ISO 200

We turned off the road to Christchurch onto the Mount Cook road and it wasn’t far before we started to spot the distinctive peak – and it WAS covered with snow. We had been expecting to be cold and had loaded the car with fleecy tops and coats but so far we had not needed to put them on when we climbed out to take our pictures. Maybe when we get closer . . . .
Like everyone heading to see Mount Cook, we pulled over into “Peter’s Lookout” and took photos of the mountains from there. There were no clouds over the peak so we patted ourselves on the back!

1/125 sec f/11 ISO 200

At the end of the road is a hotel, The Hermitage, a very smart looking place with high rise accommodation and a huge café on the level above a large tourist and ticketing office. The main feature of the building is the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Display It would have been good to go in to take a look but at $26 each we felt it was a bit expensive. The display is a collection of photos and three videos to watch. Sir Edmund Hilary did his mountain climbing training here before going on to be the first man to conquer Mt Everest back in 1952. He died in 2008. I took a shot of the statue of Hilary with the snow covered mountains behind him. This used to be easier before the statue was moved to its present location.

1/320 sec f/7.1 ISO 100

Just to prove that we had actually been to Mount Cook we took photographs of each other with the mountain behind us. With Photoshop I could make this shot Colin took show a better coloured picture of me! So you will have to use your imagination! Picasa cannot do what I would like of it.

1/60 sec f/8 ISO 100

Was it cold? It wasn’t! There was no wind and I guess that it was around 20 degrees C in the sun. It was cooler in the shade, of course, which is why I wore my fleece top. But I didn’t need my gloves and I didn’t need my coat.
This was a wonderful day I may not have quite as many photographs as on previous days but what I have taken make me happy!
AJ