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Aoraki/Mount Cook (70,696 hectares) is New Zealand's great alpine park. It has the highest mountains and the largest glaciers. Of New Zealand's 20 peaks over 3,000 metres, all except Mount Aspiring lie in the park.
Extracted from the National Park website:
The park is a harsh land of ice and rock. Glaciers cover 40% of it. There are 19 peaks over 3,000 metres including of course New Zealand's highest mountain, Aoraki/Mount Cook. The park is also part of Te Waipounamu - South Westland World Heritage Area in recognition of its outstanding natural values.
The glaciers that have helped shape the park's landscape include five major valley systems: Godley, Murchison, Tasman, Hooker and Mueller. The Tasman Glacier, New Zealand's largest and longest glacier, is clearly visible from the main highway at the entrance of the park. Its 27 km long, up to three km wide and 101 sq km. Although covered with rock material in its lower reaches, the ice of the Tasman is about 600 metres deep near the Hochstetter Icefall.
At 3754 metres, New Zealand's tallest peak is known as Aoraki by Maori. According to legend, Aoraki was a young boy in the canoe Te Waka a Aoraki, which was stranded on a reef and tilted to one side. Aoraki and his brothers climbed to the high side and sat on the wreckage. The south wind froze them and turned them into stone, creating the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana.
In 1851 Captain J. L. Stokes, sailing down the West Coast, gave the mountain its European name, Mt Cook, in honour of the English navigator Captain James Cook.
Accommodation at Aoraki/Mount Cook Village ranges from backpackers through to luxury accommodation. There are 17 huts in the park. Most are located for mountaineering use and you need climbing skills to reach them.
Activities at Mt. Cook include skiing, heli-skiing, ski touring, mountaineering, and mountain biking (on formed roads only). During my visit to the park, I took one of the scenic air flights, so several pictures are taken from the airplane.
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