It was here in Canterbury that, after ~15 years, I was finally reacquainted with the Southern Alps, the mountain range that extends across most of the South Island. The Southern Alps is one of the most rapidly rising mountain ranges in the world due to New Zealand’s unique position on the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. Their dramatic features (as photos in future posts will illustrate in more depth) are due to several factors:
- They are young mountains – the majority of their uplift has happened over the last 5 million years, with total uplift in the Aoraki/Mt. Cook region potentially amounting to 20,000 meters over the past 2-3 million years
- They were buried under huge ice-age glaciers that carved out U-shaped, sheer-walled valleys and left behind turquoise blue lakes (getting their striking color from glacial feed)
- They receive absurd amounts of rain and snowfall because they, along with the Andes, are the only major barriers to the Southern Ocean’s moisture-rich westerly winds (parts of the west coast are some of the wettest places on earth, receiving up to 15 meters of rain each year). This intensifies the mechanical freeze-thaw weathering process that weakens and cracks the rocks – it is said that if this dramatic weathering had not occurred the Alps would be 6x higher than they are today. Alternatively, without the continual uplift, this same weathering could have destroyed the entire range
We first ventured into Kaikoura, which included several highlights – admiring adorable seal pups, swimming with dusky dolphins, and exploring the beautiful coastline. After saying goodbye to Dean, I continued on solo to find out how unsafe New Zealand can be in its own Kiwi way, catch a glimpse of Lake Tekapo, take in Aoraki/Mt. Cook region’s beauty in varying conditions, and be amazed by the one-of-a-kind rock formations in Omarama.
About 27kms north of Kaikoura is a short walk up to Ohau Falls. This is quite literally a playground for baby fur seals where they develop social, swimming, foraging and anti-predator behaviors, and build their muscle power and coordination. They tend to frequent this area in the winter months but thankfully we caught this magical up-close experience in late November!
In Kaikoura, we stayed at another marvelous hostel, the Albatross Inn, filled with large lounging spaces, hammocks, musical instruments, a painting corner, and unbelievable artwork created by the various travelers that visit.
An afternoon walk around the Kaikoura Peninsula at mid-tide revealed its dramatic coastline, many more seals, armies of birds, and so much more life diversity I can’t even begin to understand (read: black jello-looking gobs chilling on rocks)
One of the most surreal experiences was getting to swim up close with dusky dolphins – we jumped into the freezing cold ocean and sang out to the dolphins underwater to come and play. There were baby dolphins following their mommies around, mating dolphins getting flirty, and dolphins leaping beautifully into the air. No dolphin footage caught on camera unfortunately but an unforgettable experience nonetheless!
After Kaikoura and a pit-stop at the Christchurch airport, I headed south west. Before going to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook, I had planned to see Mount Sunday, otherwise known as ‘Edoras’ from Lord of the Rings. It was a beautiful sunny day, the music was groovy, and I was about 20 minutes away from an awesome lunch surrounded by mountains. Unfortunately, out of nowhere a massive black hawk-like bird almost flew into my windshield, and in an effort to swerve to avoid it, I lost control on the loose gravel road, and flipped my car. New Zealand danger at its finest. Luckily it landed back upright and while it was completely wrecked, I got out without a single scratch or bruise. I hitched a ride to the nearest town to call for help (the wreck was over 20kms from cell service) and when I eventually came back with the police a few hours later, some low-lying individuals had stolen my beloved Deuter pack, a borrowed tent, tons of camping gear, and of course my wine. Definitely the worst part of it all.
After driving past the gorgeous turquoise blue Lake Pukaki and arriving in Mount Cook Village, I stayed at the White Horse Hill campsite. Tucked underneath Mt. Sefton, surrounded by magnificent alpine views and with access to several walking tracks, this campsite is another one of my favorites.
The next two days toyed with my indecision like no other as I tried to figure out my plans in accordance with the ever mysterious weather conditions (Yup, the main stresses I deal with on a day-to-day basis are first and foremost – guessing the weather, followed by – finding any conceivable ‘bathroom’ while on the road…)
I took a gamble and went up the ~2,200 steps to Sealy Tarns (halfway up to the popular Mueller Hut which I unfortunately didn’t go given the conditions). The weather shifted back and forth from cloud to rain but it was nevertheless eerily beautiful to see the mountains, Mueller Lake, the Hooker River and Mount Cook village in the distance. Definitely on the list to come back and go up to Mueller Hut on a good day!
After a delicious lunch, and more indecision about the weather, I decided to also go down the popular Hooker Valley track, which offers views of Aoraki/Mt. Cook from Hooker Lake. While the clouds covered any views of the New Zealand’s highest mountain (3724m), I enjoyed inspecting the variety of alpine plants along the way and gazing at the mesmerizing Hooker River.
At night, the sky cleared and despite getting hit with ~150km/h winds, the only thing I woke up to was the sun shining brightly and clear blue skies all around! With the weather working in my favor, this was my chance to see Aoraki/Mt. Cook so I decided to make a morning run out of doing the Hooker Valley track again. Oh was it worth it! Sunning out on a rock by Hooker Lake, with icebergs floating by and Aoraki/Mt. Cook piercing the sky is pure bliss by definition.
Last stop, Omarama. There isn’t all that much to do, but the Clay Cliffs are definitely worth a visit. Here, layers of gravel and silt make up huge sharp pinnacles and ridges with deep, narrow ravines separating them – a truly unique natural wonder.
MJ & the world 