You really should go to Mount Cook

You really should go to Mount Cook.
It's in New Zealand, but.

Why?
1. it is spectacular!
2. It is easy to get to.
3. You will see (hopefully) Australasia's highest peak.
4. You will see glaciers.
5. You will see icebergs.
6. You will see incredible alpine scenery and plants.
7. It is so close to the east coast of Australia.

How?
1. Get a cheap flight to Queenstown. Or Christchurch.
   Takes about 3 hours from Sydney. We got flights for about $400 return.
2. Hire a car. Or a campervan. Or go by bus. Or take a tour.
   You work that one out.
3. Stay in Mount Cook village for a few days.
   Because the weather is somewhat changeable and you want to maximise your chances of getting out there in
   reasonable weather.
4. There are various accommodation options - White Horse Hill campground. Where we stayed.
   The Hermitage, posh-looking hotel.
   Other cabins and a YHA.
   Again - you can work that bit out.

What?
1. If you are lucky you'll be able to see Mount Cook from the village as well as many other peaks and glaciers.
2. Get out!
3. Walk. There are three fairly easy walks that anyone can do.
   - Hooker Valley. Starts from the campground. 10kms return. Takes about 3 hours or longer if you are like us and like to stop for lots of photos. Plus we walked down to the lake edge and sat there for a while.

   - Kea Point lookout. An easy walk about 45 minutes return. Views of Mueller Lake and up the valley towards
Mount Cook. (We didn't actually do this one). Also starts from the campground.
   - Tasman Glacier lookout. This one has a few steps, but you can do it! It's not far, maybe about 30 minutes return. You can also walk down to the Blue Lakes which are now green, but it's OK to look down on them from above.
The Tasman lake only started forming in the 1970's, before that the Tasman glacier came all the way down to the moraine wall! Now the glacier is receding rapidly and the lake is coorespondingly growing!
You need to drive out of the village and along the Tasman valley to get here. Or you could ride your bike.

- We also did the Red Tarns walk which starts in the village. It goes up! And up and up! There are many steps.
You ascend 300 metres, but take it slowly, have lots of breaks, you can stop as often as you like to admire the views down and across the valley. About 2 hours return.

The paths are all very well-graded. Sure they are very touristy. You're not going to get a wilderness experience but take in the vast beauty, and the closer details - the rocks and plants along the way. Enjoy the suspension bridges along the Hooker Valley track.

4. Spend time in the information centre. It is well-placed with a great view. Terrific exhibits.
5. Pop next door to the Old Mountaineers Cafe. Good coffee. Also spectacular view.
6. The Hermitage Hotel has the Sir Edmund Hilary Centre which sounded pretty good. Cost $20.
We didn't have time to go there.
7. If you are so inclined and have the dough you could take a boat ride on Tasman Lake and get up close and personal with the glacier and some icebergs. Or take a helicopter flight.

The drive to Mount Cook passes along the shore of Lake Pukaki which is the most amazing colour when the sun shines.

If you drive from Christchurch you can pass other wondrous places such as Lake Tekapo.
If you arrive in Queenstown you might be inclined to partake of some of the activites there.
You know - bungy jumping and the like.

Just do it!

Streets of Dunedin

We enjoyed a morning finding the street art in Dunedin.

We also couldn't resist the most photographed building in New Zealand!
The railway station.

It's pretty fancy inside as well.

True to form, the cathedral was undergoing some maintenance.
(I'm looking at you Milan cathedral and various buildings in Zagreb!)

Reading adventures

I do love reading but seem to have fallen into a bit of a slump last year.
I think I was missing my book group in the Blue Mountains and although I keep in touch with them, I haven't beenable to keep up with their book choices.

I needed a new challenge!
So when I saw an on-line friend refer to the popsugar reading challenge, I was defo interested.
The list of reading prompts is certainly stretching me and revitalising my kindle and library card!

I have also picked some books off the library shelves that have been tempting me as I sit in there and use the free wifi.

Here are some things I have read lately that I have enjoyed.

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood. I can't tell you how much I loved this book.

I'm a fan of Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch and The Secret History.

I have newly discovered Helen Garner and am keen to devour more of her beautiful writing.

Elizabeth Stout is the flavour of the moment and I muchly enjoyed Olive Kitteridge and My Name is Lucy Barton.

I have also only recently read Georgia Blain - Between a Wolf and a Dog. It's so sad that she died of brain cancer 2 years ago. Such a loss.

Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O'Neill, a spoof on Australian writers as you may be able to tell from the title.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. He's the guy who wrote the tv versions of Fargo. But the book is nothing like that.
But still a good read.

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith. Another Australian author although the subject is not Australian.

I'm a big David Mitchell fan. I know he may be an acquired taste, and I love all his books apart from number9dream and am not too fussed on The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet although it has got one of the most spectacular sentences ever written, IMHO.


Hopefully this reading challenge will throw up some more favorites.



What have you read lately?

The Museum of Broken Relationships - or how to have fun in Zagreb part 3.

I first heard about this a couple of years ago, probably on the radio - thankyou ABC Radio National!
Intriguing or what?

And it doesn't disappoint.
We had to walk through pouring rain twice to get there as we needed something to eat and they do have a little cafe but don't do lunch.

So the story behind this museum is that over the years people have sent tokens of a failed relationship
with their story.
It is beautifully but simple curated.
Each exhibit is given its own space on a simple white plinth with the story in Croatian and English
alongside.

I went from crying to laughing and then sad again...

It is probably a very cathartic experience for the contributors.

It is fabulous!