After a breakfast and awkward conversation with our hosts (the worst part of the B&B experience), we set our sights on Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in Australasia. We were able to see Mt. Cook an hour before we made it to Mt. Cook village. We drove around Lake Pukaki (my favorite lake name), which is a brilliant turquoise color.
We made it to the village by lunchtime and ate in the cafe at The Hermitage, "arguably New Zealand's most famous hotel." (When we told our B&B hosts we were going to Mt. Cook, they asked if we were staying at The Hermitage. Um, no. It's $300/nigh and they don't take credit card points.)
After lunch, we took a quick hike out to Kea Point. The weather was kind of bad (gale force winds with gusts up to 120 km/hour) so the keas must have stayed home because we didn't see a single one.
The beginning of the hike.
Kea-free Kea Point
The wind really made hiking sort of unbearable. It whipped up dust and gravel and was so strong that it stopped us in our tracks a few times. It wasn't showing any signs of letting up, so we called it a day in the park and retired to our caravan park just down the road. We stayed in a dorm room and had the most magnificent view of the mountain.
The view from our room at Glentanner Park. You can't get see that at The Hermitage!
We had some down time before dinner, so Roxy gave Nate a few computer programming lessons:
No Daddy... let me show you how to do it.
We stayed in a simple cabin in Glentanner Park, a caravan park. Caravan parks don't really have an equivalent in the U.S. (correct me if I'm wrong). They're a combination campgroup, RV park, motel and hostel. They have shared cooking facilities, shared bathrooms and sometimes a restaurant. I love caravan parks.
Glentanner sure had a nice spot. It was right on the edge of Lake Pukaki and was pretty spread out.
Campers trampoline-ing with the clouds rolling over Mt. Cook.
The bad weather continued all night. It started raining after dark and I couldn't sleep all night, thinking that a BBQ was going to fly through our glass wall.
