MT COOK, NEW ZEALAND

                                                Awesome

      Mt. Cook, at 12,346-feet, is the highest peak in New Zealand, and is called Aoraki by the Maori.  The mountain wears a permanent crown of snow and ice.   The Southern Alps are bigger than the Swiss, French, and Austrian Alps all put together, and run the whole length of the South Island on the west coast--80% of the South Island is mountainous, the rest of the island is plains. New Zealand is 1000 miles north to south, and is half way between the equator and the South Pole.

      Leaving the city of Christchurch we drove through rolling hills, much of it pine covered forest mingled with blooming yellow Scottish broom-weed making for a picturesque drive.  Late

afternoon we stopped in Mackinze to see and read the dog statue which pays tribute to sheep dogs. It was then a short brisk walk in the cold wind to the small church that is a memorial to Mackinze County.

      Beautiful lupines in several colors lined the road for miles. Legend is that some farmer’s wife found  the road   a boring one, so she threw lupine seeds all along the way as she went to town

      It was cold, windy, and misty  when we arrived at Mt. Cook National Park.  Our accommodations were pretty basic—not unexpected—but we had a heater and a fabulous view from the picture window. 

     We enjoyed a fantastic full buffet at the main lodge where it was cozy with fires burning in the fireplace of each room.  A full wine bar was included.

     A little trivia picked up at dinner:   All native trees in the country are evergreen, all deciduous trees have been introduced. New Zealand is 1200 miles from Australia. The north and south islands are very different. The Maori are very evident on the north island and almost nonexistent on the south island. New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote (1893). There are more golf courses per capita in New Zealand than any other country. There are 12 sheep for every person. Tongariro National Park was the second established in the world. (Yellowstone was the first.)  New Zealand also has the only alpine parrot, the kea, and the only flightless parrot, the kakapo.

      The flightless kiwi is the oldest bird on earth. It is monogamous and suffers a complete role reversal as the female is larger than the male, and it is the male that incubates the egg, which takes 80 days to hatch.

     Along the way we made an unusual pit stop. The clean public unisex toilets were all push button. A button was pushed to close the door. Another button was pushed to dispense the TP. The toilet flushed only when the sensor activated soap and the faucet was in use! A forced cleanliness? One must push a button to open the door. BUT a sign on the opposite wall from the toilet warned that at 9 minutes you will be given a warning and at 10 minutes the door will automatically open!

     We ran into another similar toilet at the botanical gardens in Queenstown.