Tuesday 27 March 2018

AORAKI, NEW ZEALAND

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, near the town of Twizel. Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, and Aoraki/Mount Cook Village lie within the park. The area was gazetted as a national park in October 1953 and consists of reserves that were established as early as 1887 to protect the area's significant vegetation and landscape.

Even though most of the park is alpine terrain, it is easily accessible. The only road access into Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is via State Highway 80, which starts near Twizel, at 65 kilometres distance the closest town to the park, and leads directly to Mount Cook Village, where the road ends. The village is situated within the park, however, it consists only of a hotel and motels, as well as housing and amenities for the staff of the hotel and motels and other support personnel.

The park stretches for about 60 kilometres along the southwest-northeast direction of the Southern Alps, covering 722 km2 on the southeastern side of the main spine of the Alps. The valleys of the Tasman, Hooker, and Godley glaciers are the only entrances into this alpine territory that lie below 1,000 m. Glaciers cover 40% of the park area, notably the Tasman Glacier in the Tasman Valley east of Aoraki / Mount Cook. Eight of the twelve largest glaciers in New Zealand lie within Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, all of which terminate at proglacial lakes formed in recent decades due to a sustained period of shrinking.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

4 comments:

  1. Who wouldn't want to live in a town called Twizel? I love that name!
    Your photo is beautiful. I have been to Australia, but never New Zealand, and I've always marvelled at the differences in terrain between the two countries. They couldn't be more different if they tried and, to me, the difference in latitude doesn't seem to be enough to account for the differences. But of course it is, when I look at a map showing the longitude. Most mysterious.
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  2. I have been here but unfortunately there was so much mist I couldn't see the mountains. Your photo shows me what I missed.

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  3. I confess my ignorance, but I was surprised to see such magnificent mountain scenery in New Zealand! Gorgeous!
    Thanks for linking up at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-peek-inside-biltmore-estate.html

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