The Mt. Cook National Park exists in a narrow strip of land running down the eastern side of the Southern Alps. Twenty-two of the 27 highest peaks of New Zealand are located in this alpine region. They all look up to Mt. Cook, the loftiest peak in New Zealand and Australasia.
We understood this would be a place of extraordinary beauty. We weren’t disappointed. Alpine forests rise up from glacial lakes ringed by snow capped crests. The Tasman Glacier, the largest glacier outside of Antarctica, is located there.
I wanted to observe the majesty of Mt. Cook from a special observation point---the Hermitage Hotel. Often labeled the best hotel in New Zealand, the hotel affords the most exquisite view of Mt. Cook possible. A recently built wing of the famed hotel features rooms with windows that offer a truly panoramic view of the mountain. I wanted only to stay overnight in one of these rooms!
At home I had made a reservation for a room on the 6th floor of that wing for the Thursday before Easter. The rate for the room took my breath away, but I stubbornly insisted to Daryl that I didn’t care how much it cost. We’re only in New Zealand once, and we owed it to ourselves to fork up what it takes to spend a night there, I said. Reluctantly, she agreed.
What followed was incredible good luck. In my web research to reserve a room in the hotel, I had noticed a special price offer for rooms in that wing offered only to New Zealanders. Taking my courage in hand, I decided to try to bargain with the reservation clerk about this special when making our reservation. I asked if we could also have this special 60 percent discount on the standard room rate too. I was blown away when my request was granted! In addition, the original rate included a sumptuous dinner in the hotel’s Panorama Room. The clerk made a dinner reservation for us for 7:30 p.m. in the elegant restaurant that had its own spectacular view of the mountain. I was thrilled when she included the special dinner in the discounted room charge for an additional price of just $30 apiece. We had a fabulous dinner in the five-star restaurant that night. When we received the check, we were astonished to see we had received a $200 dinner for $30 apiece. I’m still amazed at our financial good fortune at Mt. Cook.
On the drive that afternoon from Timaru to Mt. Cook, we encountered the first of many one-lane bridges we would pass over during the next two weeks. At first they were especially daunting.
I was driving in a misty rain and dense fog that drifted low to the ground. Suddenly, a confusing sign came into view. The small sign displayed only up and down arrows of red and black. I could see it overlooked a one-lane bridge and slammed on the brakes. Oncoming lights indicated a car was crossing the bridge. I waited our turn to cross. We learned to read these red and black, or sometimes white and red arrow sign very carefully! They indicated whether we had the right of way or had to stop for oncoming traffic. At first, the question of whether to go or stop produced a moment of indecision.
NZ drivers follow a familiar protocol when approaching these one-lane bridges. They allow several cars to cross while you wait your turn if you have the red arrow on your lane. We discovered only one one-lane bridge in our entire travels where a red light rather than a sign indicated whether to stop or go. More importantly, we encountered two hazardous driving situations that called for extreme caution.
A week into our trip we were heading north along the winding West Coast road that zigzags around narrow bends along rugged cliffs high above the sea. As we were driving along at a normal pace, suddenly we faced a totally blind curve in the road on the mountain. We could see this was a one-lane road and couldn’t determine whether a car or truck was coming around the bend! Furthermore, no guardrail provided protection for what would surely be a fatal fall down into the canyon below if we were hit. Luckily, Daryl was driving. I would have been totally immobile with fear.
She decided to take a chance and started around the curve. For one of the few times in my life, I was truly frightened. I didn’t have a clue what we might face around the blind bend. If a car or truck approached, they’d just have to back up, Daryl said, because she couldn’t. She feared, as did I, that she’d back off into mid-air and tumble down the mountain.
Obviously, we made it safely but I don’t want to live through that experience again. An hour later we drove through another similarly frightening spot with a blind bridge high in those same mountains. Those were the only two times we felt in danger on New Zealand roads.
What made all the difference in driving were the polite New Zealand drivers and the nearly empty two lane highways designed with a rational system of three lanes for passing at frequent intervals.
Kiwis drive fast. Though we didn’t approach their frequent 120-km an hour speed on a straightaway, they seemed tolerant of our slower speed for the most part.
Mt. Cook was worth the effort we expended to get there, even for such a short stay. We enjoyed every moment of our special room’s superb view of the snow-covered peak until darkness descended that night. We enjoyed our five-star dinner equally. The next morning, after filling up on the hotel’s delicious buffet breakfast, we were off toward our next adventure--Doubtful Sound.
[Go to New Zealand Part Eight]
