Aoraki - Mt Cook

At 3754 metres (12,316 ft), Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. It is part of the Southern Alps range, which runs the length of the West Coast of the South Island.

According to Maori legend, Aoraki was a young boy in the canoe Te Waka a Aoraki, which was stranded on a reef and tilted to one side. Aoraki and his brothers climbed to the high side and sat on the wreckage. The south wind froze them and turned them into stone, creating the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana. The English name, Mount Cook, honours Captain James Cook, who first surveyed and circumnavigated the islands of New Zealand in 1770.

The mountain is in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park which is one of the United Nations World Heritage Parks.

The settlement of Mount Cook Village (also known as The Hermitage) is a tourist centre and base camp for the mountain.

The park is a popular scenic location for walking, tramping, skiing and mountaineering.