Day 29 Mount Cook

We were able to see Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ, from a distance on our bike trip but we wanted to get closer so we drove up to Mount Cook/ Aoraki . The day is overcast and we can only see the bottom part of the mountains so we go to see a display of Sir Edmond Hillary's life , hoping that the weather will clear somewhat. The display is very interesting , turns out that Hillary honed his skills on Mount Cook/Aoraki for his assault on Mount Everest. Still not clear but sun is making an appearance so we decide to take one of the hikes to an area that gives better viewing of Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier. The hike is very enjoyable and we spend time at the lookout eating our lunch but still only occasional views of higher peaks. After returning to our car we decide to head back to Wanaka . On the way out of Mount Cook Village we see a road to Tasman Lake, a lake formed by the melting of the Tasman glacier. We park the car and climb the 302 steps to get a view and yeah the weather has cleared and we get great views of the Glacier and some snow covered peaks and the icebergs in the lake that have broken away from the glacier. They say that these ice formations in the lake are from snow that fell on the glacier over a hundred years earlier. We head home happy !