NZ2024 - Leg 14, March 9 Twizel and Mount Cook

Still recovering from a very late night/early morning photographing the Milky Way in a dark sky area - trust me, it was verrry dark out there - we didn't really get moving until about 9 a.m.  We wanted to spend the day with our friend Ian of Ian Riddler Photography, as he had some ideas about taking us to places few people even know about, and fewer still have taken photos of.  

But first, we had been talking of takin a heli tour of one of the glaciers since we started planning this trip.  Of course, that's always weather dependent, and we really weren't sure where to even start, as there are so many choices.  But now, today, we had to book something or we wouldn't get to go.  Already, there were only a few spots left, so we grabbed tickets for the 12:30 pm short tour (25 minutes) up to an alpine landing zone, and then back down over the Tasman glacier.  Ian was happy to take us up there, since he wanted to show us a couple of secret spots near Mt. Cook, and of course the airport we would catch the chopper from was the Mt. Cook airport.  

Ian picked us up at the Rejuvenate on Rata lodging we had booked through BookTwizel.com, and we went downtown for a takeaway coffee and muffin.  He was doing the driving for the day, so we had to make sure he was fueled up!  First stop was the Mt. Cook airport for our heli tour.  Ian had no interest in joining us in the chopper, although we certainly tried.  We got there early, which was fine, we had a chance to catch up a bit, and catch our breath.  After our safety briefing, Linda was selected to sit in the front seat beside the pilot - wow!  What a view!  And I got to sit by the door/window behind her for a full view.

  

We ascended along a rock wall, with mountainous views on all sides, and after a few moments of oooh-ing and awwww-ing, we landed on top of a mountain, with a full view of Mount Cook.  Incredible.  The flight so far was so smooth I would have never known I was in a chopper.  I was trying very hard to take video, get a few photos, and not spend the entire ride taking videos and photos, and being present enough to remember the experience.  And what a sight when we got out of the chopper onto the top of that mountain.  We could see Mt. Cook just one ridge over, completely without cloud, on one of the most beautiful days we'd had.

  

We stayed for 8 minutes, where all 5 passengers could get lots of photos to prove we had been on top of a mountain and took a helicopter to get there.  Mostly, I spent the time trying not to get rock burn on my jaw - it kept dropping, and as soon as I picked it up it dropped again, so I wound up just kind of dragging it around all over that little plateau in the sky.  I got more video, more photos, a few selfies, a shot with the pilot (he was so good), and then it was time to go again.  Just as he said it was time to go, I started noticing all the beautiful tiny alpine lichens and mosses on the rocks, and the shapes of the rocks - I had been so enthralled with what I could see a couple of kilometers away that I hadn't noticed what was directly beneath me.  

I did notice the feel of the air, though, how fresh and clean it was, cool but not very cold.  There was only a very small patch of snow on the little plateau we were on, and nothing above us.  The helicopter had stayed running on idle while we were losing our lower mandibles (probably just to save time), so it didn't take long to load back up and be on our way, following the opposite side of the Tasman glacier as we descended, giving everyone a chance to view it - that and the glacial lake that is the result of the glacier melt.  The glacier itself has receded to the point that mostly what you see is the gray top of the glacial edge, gray because it covered with rock that tumbles down on it.  

Below us is a world that is not something easily seen, and I am struck by how small I feel, how insignificant, how priveleged.  I am humbled yet again by the huge nature that is still available to us in this country that treasures it's nature.  More photos and videos, and hopefully some of them turn out.  Finally, we are back at the airport, unloading, gobsmacked, wishing I could just go back into the airport and do it again, as though it were an amusement park ride, and realizing that this earth and all that is in it is so much not like amusement park ride, and in so many ways it is exactly an amusement park ride.  And this life is an awesome ride!

When we found Ian again, he showed us around the Hermitage Hotel, a massive place with huge windows and three large restaurants.  They have an Edmund Hilary museum there, as well as other history, supplies for mountaineering, and pies that were really the best we've had - and that was in the cafeteria!  He walked us around and we chatted about the possibilities of basing a photo tour out of this hotel, since it is used as a base camp for many other activities in the area.  Lots to consider as we start formulating a plan to put together photo adventure tours.

The next part of our day - having replenished our energy with a pie - was a "20 minute walk" on a trail that went up to Lake Tasman, which we had just seen from the helicopter.  Ian mentioned that sometimes, there were iceburgs in the lake.  As the glacier calves, the chunks which are the size of arctic icebergs float down the lake sometimes to this end.  The hike turned into an hour and a half, but gave us an astounding view of Lake Tasman.  The colour is of the sand and the sea all at once, a gray-blue that is milky but beautiful.  And the trail itself was surrounded by beauty of the Southern Alps.  I kept stopping to take more photos, from every angle.  The sky was blue, a few odd clouds, and some interesting refractions from the sun made for some stunning scenes.  I can't wait to process these photos when I get home to my laptop.

  

There was one more place Ian wanted to show us, and he promised we wouldn't have to walk as far this time.  But he also asked if we were ok with going "off the beaten track".  We were, as long as we didn't have to do the hiking - we were still pretty tired from lack of sleep.  This resulted in a very bumpy 4wd drive up what appeared at first to be a track (although not very well beaten), and along a riverbed, filled with huge loose rocks, basically, up the side of a mountain for what seemed like ages, following a loose rock "wall" of sorts to the right.  We are jostled about quite severely, although the scenery all around makes up for it.  Up ahead, we see snow-covered peaks of the sourthern Alps.  To the left some of the small alpine mountains.  

Partway up, Ian tells us the rock wall on the right is actually the moraine left by the Tasman glacier as it retreated, and we will be trying to get to the end of it.  Eventually, after what seems like well over half an hour, we reach a spot where there is a post on each side of the track and a chain across it.  And another car is parked there!  Ian assures us that several people know about the track and there is a hut up ahead that can be used as a place to stay for the more adventurous types.

We continue on foot, which we hadn't intended to do, but he promised it wasn't far.  And to be fair, it wasn't terribly far as the crow flies (if there were crows here), but it was a steep climb over very large, loose stones, many the size of a loaf of bread.  There are mountains to the left of us, the rock wall to the right, and ahead, we can see the peaks of the Minarets.  The wind and sun are strong, and we're getting a little winded and more than a little dehydrated.  Finally, we reach the end of the moraine, and there is the edge of a precipice, and a sight I never thought I would be honoured to see.  The raw edge of the Tasman Glacier.  It's still a long ways away - but it's probably the closest anyone ever gets to it, other than the Glacier Explorers that go in by boat up the Lake.  Although there are heli tours that take people up and land on the glacier itself, they can't go this close to the edge of it, as it is continuously breaking off, and it would be far too dangerous.

  

The colours of the edge are truly remarkable - blues and greens and turquoise and teal and gray and white and aquamarine...  And we can hear it crack and moan as it "moves" and shifts, at one point, we can ripples where a piece likely fell in, but it's impossible to watch the entire edge at the same time it is so huge.  

The patterns and textures of the ice are like jewels - like raw gemstones or enormous pieces of blue quartz.  As a few of the Glacier Explorer boats come into view far below, we really get a sense of the size of the glacial edge, the boats - as big as they are - are dwarfed.  And to the left is a view of the Minarets - a couple of peaks near Mt. Cook that are considered dome peaks.  And this time, I make note of some of the smaller scenes right beneath me, the tiny little fern-like mirror of the larger fern that is the symbol of NZ.  The rocks and the patterns they make, just from falling there or being carried there by the forces of nature.  The scene behind us, which I often forget about - to look in every direction, including where I came from.

  

It is yet another magical and amazing experience, that we feel so honoured to have had.  Worth the effort of getting there?  Absolutely.  But the sun is starting to go down, and will soon be leaving us in shadow, so it's best we get back to Ian's 4WD ute and make our way back to Twizel - almost an hour's drive.

We arrive at the Ute, and meet up with three people getting out of yet another vehicle - more power to them.  Descending the mountain seems to take only about 10 minutes, although it is not any less bumpy.  The drive back to Twizel seems to take forever, and Linda and I are fighting sleep.  Ian seems ok - thankfully, since he's driving.

This time, we choose a pub for supper, something simple, although they are extremely busy and we wind up sitting outside - wearing our puffy jackets as the wind has picked up and is quite cool.  Upon finishing our supper, we go back to the house we are renting, have a couple of glasses of wine, and talk about what an amazing experience the entire day has been.  We can't thank Ian enough for sharing his time with us, and we agree to meet for coffee the next morning to talk more about the adventure photo tour idea.  We are all exhausted, and need to just sit, and not think, and maybe even go to bed.

Life is pretty darn good.