Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chamois, smaller and of lighter build than the thar, and originally hailing from Europe;
and red deer, also European. Summertime brings into bloom the Mt Cook lily, a large
mountain buttercup, and mountain daisies, gentians and edelweiss.
Sights
DOC Aoraki/Mt Cook
Visitor Centre
INTERPRETATION CENTRE
( 03-435 1186;
www.doc.govt.nz
; 1 Larch Grove; 8.30am-4.30pm)
As well as being
the font of all knowledge about tramping routes and weather conditions, DOC's visitor
centre has excellent displays on local flora, fauna and history, as well as videos and a
sunken garden showcasing a historic mountain hut. Most activities can be booked here.
Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre
MUSEUM
(
www.hermitage.co.nz
; The Hermitage; adult/child $20/10; 7am-8.30pm Oct-Mar, 8am-7pm Apr-
Sep)
This multimedia museum opened just three weeks before the January 2008 death of
the man widely regarded as the greatest New Zealander of all time. Sir Ed's commentary
tracks were recorded only a few months before he died. As well as memorabilia and dis-
plays about mountaineering, there's a domed digital planetarium (showing four different
digital presentations) and a cinema (screening four documentaries, including the
Mt Cook
Magic
3D movie and a fascinating 75-minute film about Sir Ed's conquest of Mt
Everest).
Tasman Glacier
GLACIER
At 27km long and up to 3km wide, the Tasman is the largest of NZ's glaciers, but it's
melting fast, losing hundreds of metres from its length each year. It is also melting from
the top down, shrinking around 150m in depth since it was first surveyed in 1891. In its
lower section the melts have exposed rocks, stones and boulders, which form a solid un-
sightly mass on top of the ice. Despite this considerable melt, at its thickest point the ice
is still estimated to be over 600m deep.
Tasman Lake
, at the foot of the glacier, only started to form in the early 1970s and
now stretches to 7km. The ongoing effects of climate change are expected to extend it to
16km within the next 20 years. The lake is covered by a maze of huge icebergs which are
continuously being sheared off the glacier's terminal face. On 22 February 2011 the
Christchurch earthquake caused a 1.3km long, 300m high, 30-million-tonne chunk of ice
to break off, causing 3.5m waves to roll into the tourist boats on the lake at the time (no
one was injured).
