Wednesday 8th Mar Mt Cook (14-21 degrees)

For dinner last night we had booked into the Alpine Restaurant for a huge buffet meal. We ate far too much but all the same it was very nice! The weather looked a little ominous this morning so we had decided to visit the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, located in the Hermitage Hotel. Last night we inquired about doing a Tasman Glacier and lake boat ride but unfortunately it was totally booked out for today and also for Thursday. Anyway due to the rain and windy conditions this morning, the first two tours were cancelled. We all enjoyed spending a couple of hours learning about the history of the Mt Cook area and hotel and of course, the famous Sir Edmund Hillary. By the time we had finished here the weather had improved so we decided to go on some of the walks located nearby. We drove out to the Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake and started with the so called “easy” walk. It was relatively easy until Rob decided to take us on a short-cut back to the path. It was a little hairy for me and seemed more like a mountain goat track. We successfully made our way back after lots of complaining from me. That took us about an hour. The next walk, Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View was classed as 40 minutes return, Grade: easy, some steps, Height Gain: 100mt. Didn’t sound so difficult! Some steps meant 343! Poor Rob who doesn’t like stairs or steps at the best of times decided to count them on the way down, when he could breathe. We all made it to the lookout and enjoyed some magnificent views of the lake and the rapidly receding glacier. The sun was out and we were all pretty hot by the time we were back at the car. Returning to the Hermitage, we went back to the Hillary centre and completed viewing the displays. We visited the café for a well-earned coffee and by this stage the weather had started to close in again. The rest of the afternoon was spent quietly relaxing and enjoying the ever-changing views of the magnificent Mt Cook.