mt cook, nz

One of the first places we visited on the south island was Mt Cook, which is the tallest mountain in NZ. It was sort of a rough start to our adventure since it ended up being super duper cold with fierce wind and rain on our 3 hour hike to see the glacier. I don't think my fingers have ever been that cold in my life. Ever.
It was beautiful, though! The water was turquoise and the glacier was majestic. In the last photo on this page of the two of us you can see glacial pieces in the lake that have been pushed by the wind to the shore.
Near the trail head there was a monument dedicated to all those who lost their lives on the mountain. It's a very sobering site. You can read some of the plaques in the photo below.
I definitely recommend seeing this place but not spending the night unless it's summer and you can spend your days hiking in sunshine - it's a tiny, isolated town with not much to do but hike and it's cold! buuuut I think I mentioned that already :)