TWIZEL NZ
NEW ZEALAND
Homepage for Twizel NZ
Mt Cook and the Mackenzie Basin

Twizel New Zealand


Twizel New Zealand

HOME LINKS WEATHER
AORAKI / MOUNT COOK NEW ZEALAND
Mt Cook is the highest peak in Oceania a 3750m or 12,303ft. Mount Cook National Park (70,696 hectares) is New Zealand's great alpine park. It has the highest mountains and the largest glaciers. Mount Cook national park is located in the central part of the South Island, deep in the heart of the Southern Alps with Twizel the nearest town. Activities in and around Mt Cook National Park include trout fishing, flight-seeing, hiking, skiing, jet-boating and mountain biking.

AORAKI/ MT COOK NEW ZEALAND 
Location
The mountain is in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The park was formally declared in 1953, and in combination with Westland National Park is one of the United Nations World Heritage Parks. The park contains more than 140 peaks standing over 2,000 m (6,500 ft) and 72 named glaciers, which cover 40% of the park's 700 km² (173,000 acres).The settlement of Mount Cook Village (also known as The Hermitage) is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain. It is 7 km from the end of the Tasman Glacier, 12 km south of Aoraki/Mount Cook's summit.

Naming and European discovery
 Aoraki means "Cloud Piercer" in the Nga-i Tahu dialect of the Ma-ori language. Historically, the Ma-ori name has been spelt Aorangi in the "canonical" Ma-ori form. The first European known to see Aoraki/Mount Cook was Abel Tasman on December 13, 1642 during his first Pacific voyage. The English name of Mount Cook was given by Captain John Lort Stokes to honour Captain James Cook who first surveyed and circumnavigated the islands of New Zealand in 1770. Captain Cook did not sight the mountain during his exploration.Following the settlement between Nga-i Tahu and the Crown in 1998, the name of the mountain was officially changed from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook to incorporate its historic Ma-ori name, Aoraki. As part of the settlement, a number of South Island placenames were amended to incorporate their original Ma-ori name. Signifying the importance of Aoraki/Mount Cook, it is the only one of these names where the Ma-ori name precedes the English. Under the settlement the Crown agreed to return title to Aoraki/Mount Cook to Nga-i Tahu, who then formally gifted it back to the nation.

Geology
Aoraki/Mount Cook from LandSat. The Southern Alps on the South Island are formed by tectonic uplifting and pressure as the Pacific and Australia-Indian plates collide along the island's western coast. The uplifting continues, raising Aoraki/Mount Cook an average of 7 mm (just over a quarter of an inch) each year. However, erosive forces are also powerful shapers of the mountains. The severe weather is due to the mountain's jutting into powerful westerly winds of the Roaring Forties which run around approximately 45°S latitude, south of both Africa and Australia. The Southern Alps are the first obstacle the winds encounter after South America as they blow easterly across the Southern Ocean.Aoraki/Mount Cook was 10 m (33 ft) higher until approximately 10 million cubic metres of rock and ice fell off the northern peak on 14 December 1991
VISITING AORAKI/ MT COOK NEW ZEALAND  
Plan & prepare
Useful phone numbers:
Visitor Centre: +64 3 435 1186
Weather: +64 3 435 1187
Hermitage: +64 3 435 1809
Alpine Guides: +64 3 435 1834
Hostelling International Mount Cook: +64 3 435 1820

Getting there
From Twizel a sealed road leads right into the park. Aoraki/Mount Cook Village lies at the end of the road just below the terminals of the Hooker and Mueller Glaciers.
*Aoraki/Mount Cook village has an airport, but no serviced flights.
* A regular bus service operates to Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.P>

Facilities
The Department of Conservation Visitor Centre has displays and information on the Aoraki/Mount Cook region. Weather forecasts, up-to-date track information and conservation merchandise, including publications and maps, are also available. There are no banks at Aoraki/Mount Cook Village but EFTPOS facilities are available.

What to take
The alpine tramping routes in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park are not for the inexperienced. The weather conditions can be severe and groups attempting the trips must be properly equipped and well prepared.

Park
Your group should have a capable leader and everyone must carry a sleeping bag, sufficient high energy food (with some extra for emergencies), a waterproof raincoat and over trousers, gloves, a hat, and several layers of warm (wool or fleece) clothing.

Take sun cream and sunglasses, summer or winter. Your group will also need a first aid kit, portable stove, fuel, cooking utensils and a map and compass (along with someone who knows how to use them). Boots and specialised equipment are necessary (ice axe and crampons are a minimum).

Warning
During and after heavy snow falls avalanches are possible. Please check at the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre for up-to-date information on weather and track conditions. Fill in an intention form and remember to let them know when you have completed your trip.




CLIMBING AORAKI/ MT COOK NEW ZEALAND 

Ngai Tahu believe that it is not appropriate to climb onto what is effectively the head of an ancestor. Yet European immigrants and visitors alike have come to the area from the earliest times of settlement with the intention of climbing the unclimbed and their stories are the stuff of legends - given the primitive equipment available to these early climbers.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook is the largest and highest peak in NZ and a formidable climb by any route. To reach the summit at 3754m requires a day climb of over 1500m from the Grand Plateau Hut. Using the Linda Glacier route is the least technical and fastest. However the Zurbriggen's Route is a direct and challenging alternative for fit and competent climbers.

A high level of fitness is required and because the peak is 600 metres higher than surrounding ridges, it is exposed to high winds and rapid changing weather conditions.

First attempt
The first recorded European attempt on the summit was made by the Irishman Rev. W. S. Green and the Swiss hotelier Emil Boss and the Swiss mountain guide Ulrich Kaufman on 2 March 1882. but it was subsequently established that they were 50 m short of the true summit.

First ascent
On 25 December 1894 New Zealanders Tom Fyfe, James (Jack) Clarke and George Graham, successfully reached the summit via the Hooker Valley and the north ridge. Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen climbed the mountain solo very shortly afterwards from the Tasman Glacier side, via the ridge that now bears his name. Local guide George Bannister, a descendant of Te Koeti Turanga of Nga-i Tahu was the first Maori to successfully scale the peak in 1912. It remains a challenging ascent, with frequent storms and very steep snow and ice climbing to reach the peak. Strictly speaking, it is a triple peak, with the north peak being the highest. A traverse of the three peaks was first accomplished in 1913 by Freda du Faur and guides Peter and Alex Graham. Three years earlier du Faur was the first woman to ascend Aoraki/Mount Cook.

Mt COOK - NEW ZEALAND

TWIZEL REAL ESTATE

Come on up to Twizel and let me show you around Twizel, the fastest growing town in New Zealand.
FRANK DELLABARCA
Ph: 021 673 873
CLICK HERE TO IEW MY LISTINGS
A.J RAMSAY REAL ESTATE LTD
Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)


AREA HISTORY
Aoraki/ Mt Cook at Dusk viewed from the Tekapo Canal * 1642 - Aoraki sighted by Abel Tasman - Ma-ori knew it for centuries before this.

* 1770 - Captain Cook named the Southern Alps
* 1851 - Captain Stokes of the survey ship HMS Acheron gave the name Mt Cook to Aoraki[1].
* 1884 - First Hermitage built under the direction of Frank Huddleson
* 1894 - First ascent of /Mount Cook, on Christmas Day, by Jack Clarke, Tom Fyfe and George Graham
* 1910 - Freda du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook
* 1911 - The vital swing bridge is built in the Hooker Valley
* 1913 - First ascents of the footstool and Mt Sefton made by Freda du Faur's climbing party
* 1913 - Hermitage first ravaged by floods in January, then destroyed by floods two months later
* 1914 - First fatal accident, when three men caught in avalanche on Linda Glacier
* 1914 - Second Hermitage opened, on different site
* 1957 - Second Hermitage razed to the ground
* 1959 - First school opens, Aoraki Mt Cook School
* 1981 - Passenger flights begin by Mount Cook Airline, now part of Air New Zealand Link
* 1982 - Mark Inglis trapped in Schrund
* 1991 - Avalanche of 10 million cubic metres of snow and rock causes 10 metres to be lost off the top.
* 1998 - Nga-i Tahu Claims Settlement Act recognises original name, renaming mountain Aoraki/ Mt Cook.

TRAVEL TO TWIZEL

From Christchurch:
Drive south on state highway 1 to Rangitata and turn right to Geraldine- 1.5 to 2 hours.
Continue to Fairlie - 30 minutes - and turn right onto state highway 8 through the beautiful Mackenzie Country, past Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, to Twizel - 1 to 1.5 hours.
Allow 4 hours for a comfortable journey with a break.

From Queenstown :
Drive north on state highway 6 past Cromwell - about 45 minutes.
Turn onto state highway 8 and continue north through Tarras and over Lindis Pass , then through Omarama to Twizel - 1.5 to 2 hours.
Allow 3 hours for a comfortable journey with a break.

Twizel is:
198km from Queenstown
148km from Oamaru
195km from Ashburton
160km from Timaru
286km from Christchurch

Click Here for an Interactive Map of Twizel


KiwiPlanet - The Homepage for Kiwi's