We started our drive north this morning, backtracking through Queenstown. On the way, we took the opportunity to visit the Home of Bungee Jumping. As mentioned in one of our previous blog posts, Queenstown is the birthplace of commercial bungee jumping. The actual bridge where it started is just off of the highway, now bustling with adventure seekers (all very nervous) looking to participate in the tradition. We watched, impressed, from a safe distance but had no interest in participating!

With an imminent storm approaching, we decided to bypass checking into our rental house first and continue our drive up to the Mount Cook area (known as Aoraki to the Maori). Winding along the crystal blue waters of Lake Pukaki, we were treated to stunning views of the Southern Alps.

After a long drive, we happily hiked to the viewpoint of the Tasman Lake and Glacier. This was a particularly cool experience since we flew over this glacier a few days ago on our helicopter ride out of Franz Josef. As the crow flies the Mount Cook area and the West Coast are not far apart but they are separated by the Continental Divide. We quickly crossed the Divide from the air but by car it is a six to seven hour drive. Being closer to the ground, we were able to see the intricacies of the glacier. As with all glaciers around the world, the Tasman Glacier is unfortunately receding due to climate change.

We took another short hike in the Mount Cook area to a swing bridge with a lookout of Mueller Lake and a closer view of some of the Southern Alps. Throughout the afternoon there were puffy white clouds around the mountains while the sun shined through, representing a very good day in the mountains. As we were leaving, we were treated to a very rare occurrence in which the clouds almost completely dissipated and Mount Cook prominently displayed itself. Against the colorful waters and surrounding sharp peaks, these views are some of the best that New Zealand has to offer.

We are staying the night in the quaint town of Twizel before heading to Christchurch tomorrow. We had dinner at a small bar in town featuring a diverse menu including burgers and chicken curry.