New Zealand Sabbatical

Our long drive on gravel was worth the journey to see the Clay Cliffs near Omarama. Ancient lake deposits from 20 million years ago have been lifted up by a nearby fault then erosion has carved it beautifully as shown in these 2 pictures:

Next we moved on to Mt. Cook which holds the distinction as the highest mountain in New Zealand at 12,218 feet. The Maori name is Aoraki which translates to “cloud piercer”and the peak is usually enshrouded with clouds but we were lucky enough to see its top driving toward it. We hiked (tramped they say here) along the mountain’s base to a glacial lake with icebergs as seen in the second picture below: