Mount Cook
The magnificent Southern Alps stretch from Nelson in the north
down to Fiordland in the south. In the maze of mountains within
Mount Cook National Park, Mount Cook itself stands the highest.
Awarded 'World Heritage' status in recognition of its qualities
and rare beauty, the Park covers an area of nearly 7,000 hectares
of majestic alpine scenery with more than one third being
in permanent snow and glacial ice. The park contains 22 of
the 27 peaks over 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) in New Zealand
and provides a wonderland for walkers, skiers and mountaineers.
When the polynesians arrived fresh from the tropical Pacific, they risked frostbite and lethal mountain rivers to gaze upon the mountain in awe, naming it Aoraki or Cloud Piercer. Mount Cook was first conquered on Christmas Day in 1894 by Tom Fyfe, George Graham and Jack Clarke, all New Zealanders. The first woman to climb Mount Cook was Freda du Faur, who was also in the first party to make the Grand Traverse of Mount Cook - climbing all three peaks on the same day.
A special feature of this area is the mountain buttercup or Mount Cook Lily, with its multitude of white blossoms that grace the land through spring and summer. The Park is also home to the mountain parrot, the kea, and also the yellow-breasted tomtit, tiny rifleman and the native pigeon.
