Mt Cook and the McKenzie Basin
"magnificent
mountains and languid lakes"
The central spine of the South Island, the Southern Alps and Mt Cook, dominates this region.
Rearing suddenly off the coastal Canterbury Plains, they are a dramatic backdrop to this heartland region of the South Island.
From gentle Geraldine in the north to drop-dead beautiful Wanaka on the lake in the south it is an area of bold, raw landforms.
Everything about it seems to be big. The high country runs, which lie at the core of the rural New Zealand story, are big. They were broken in by colonists with big dreams, big ideas and big pockets.
The civil engineering schemes, which have reshaped whole landscapes, are big - they needed to be to bring power to a rapidly growing nation.
And the landscapes themselves are big. The mountains go without saying - they are the highest in the land - but at the very heart of this region is the McKenzie Country, bounded by Burke's Pass in the north and the starkly beautiful Lindis Pass in the south.
Named after a notorious 19th century sheep stealer - we have an eclectic collection of heroes in this country - the McKenzie is a vast, near-flat grassy plain spread like a green-brown cloak at the feet of the alps.
Within its borders is some of the most beautiful scenery the country has to offer.
For instance, just go to Tekapo and sit in the front pew of the little church there. If the view through the altar window doesn't move you emotionally then your heart must be made of the very mountain stone itself.
Enough chatter. What has this area to offer:
Geraldine
Take a diversion from SH79 up to the lip of the downs behind the village for a quiet look at the essential rural New Zealand.
Meander over the hills, through Fairlie and up and down Burke's Pass. Stop to whet your whistle at the age-old Burke's Pass Hotel before ascending to to the open plains of the McKenzie Basin.
Tekapo
First thing you'll notice is the colour of Lake Tekapo - brilliant turquoise. Makes for fabulous photographs. The colour is caused by "rock-flour" suspended in the glacial melt-water that feeds the lake. The glacier literally grinds the rock to a fine powder and carries it away. Thus are mighty mountains brought low by the efluxion of time and torrent.
As said earlier, go into the Church of the Good Shepherd and marvel at one of the finest altar views in the world. The best of European stained glass is not equal to the work of the god that made this scene.
Nearby is a bronze statue that pays recognition to the working sheepdogs of the high country. Without them, farming these rugged slopes would be impossible.
But nature has not been allowed to rest easy in this land. To give power to the people men with giant machines reshaped vast tracts of countryside and built a system of canals that carries water from Tekapo to the headwaters of a series of hydro electric generating stations. As you drive you'll see the canals and lakes they created in completing the single largest civil engineering project the country has seen.
Ideally you should make time for the 90km drive up to Mt Cook - and time to take some of the walks in the Mt Cook National Park.
But if you don't have that kind of
time at least make a flying visit - with Air Safaris or Mt Cook Ski Planes. Mt Cook Line has the advantage of a
landing on the Tasman Glacier - the largest of the local
ice giants. At 27km long it's one of the world's longest
glaciers outside the polar regions.
Another way of seeing the region, spectacularly, is by helicopter. Tekapo Helicopters will give you this sort of ride.
But around Mt Cook National Park there are numerous walks ranging from 10 minutes to an hour or two, or to several days of strenuous mountain hiking. There is, of course, also some serious mountain climbing here. This is the area in which a young beekeeper from Auckland did his training so that one day in June 1953, with the sherpa Tenzing Norgay, he would stand on the top of the world. His name was Ed Hillary, now Sir Edmund, and he climbed Mt Everest. He is probably the man most revered by NZers.
Omarama
If you have a hankering to become a high flier, this is your kind of place. Recently, multi-millionaire adventurer Steve Foster has been sitting around here waiting for just the right conditions to break the world gliding altitude record. He plans to fly to the very edge of space with nothing but the wind beneath his wings.
Why here? Because when the prevailing westerly winds hit the mountains they are driving upwards. The resulting pressure wave can lift gliders to extreme altitudes and many a record has been set here.
If this sounds like your kind of action contact Doug Hamilton at Alpine Soaring and he'll put you in the pilot's seat - tuition, flying or just sightseeing in the silence of unpowered flight.
Fishing is also a biggie in the rivers and lakes (many of them man-made) around here. For a local guide contact Max's Fishing Trips.
From here you go up and over the Lindis Pass to the South Island's lake district. The Lindis is one of my favourite landscapes - I just love the photos you get contrasting the red tussock with the crystal azure of the sky.
[Return to the top of Mt Cook, New Zealand]
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Home Page
All you need to know about a visit to the
place where God set the contrast and colour and man
hasn't fiddled with the dials.
Introduction
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this
mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
General Information
Background bumpf on the country.
Getting In
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free
shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody
important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Getting Around
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or
by sea.
Accommodation
"nuff said.
The Regions
What to see, what to do, why to go there.
Special Interests
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing,
skiing - and more.
Home Page
All you need to know about a visit to the
place where God set the contrast and colour and man
hasn't fiddled with the dials.
Introduction
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this
mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
General Information
Background bumpf on the country.
Getting In
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free
shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody
important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Getting Around
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or
by sea.
Accommodation
"nuff said.
The Regions
What to see, what to do, why to go there.
Special Interests
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing,
skiing - and more.