After finishing the Milford Track we drove to Mt. Cook Village and camped for a night. The next day we walked one kilometer vertically and a few kilometers horizontally to reach the Mueller Hut. The hut is used as a base by alpine climbers to explore the peaks in the area, but tourists also visit it to try to get the incredible views of Mt. Sefton and Mt. Cook that postcards are made of.
On the day we hiked up we got a brief glimpse of Mt. Cook’s peak before the clouds closed in. We got to see a little more of Mt. Sefton but the clouds kept the spectacular views out of sight. The Mueller Hut is at an elevation of 1810 meters and the peak of Mt. Olivier is only another 100 meters above it so we hiked up. Mt. Olivier is known for being the first peak that Sir Edmund Hillary climbed on his way to being the first person to summit Mt. Everest. We figure we will head for Mt. Everest next. Never mind that Sir Edmund Hillary was 20 when he climbed Mt. Olivier in the dead of winter with no trail, no hut and no shoes.
After spending the night in the Mueller Hut we woke up to a blanket of clouds in the valley below us and the sunlight casting a wonderful orange glow on the peaks of Mt. Sefton and Mt. Cook.
As the day warmed up we got to see a few ice falls. The sound of the ice falling creates a roar that fills the whole valley.
It was hard to stop taking pictures even after we made it back down.
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