The Year 11 Geography students had a fabulous time at Mount Cook last week.

They completed research on river processes, looked at glacial processes and collected information on sustainability and human impact in the village. They also visited DOC, the waste transfer and water treatment plants, Emergency Response and SAR headquarters and the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Centre where we watched 3D films in the Planetarium. They gave back by cleaning up the White Horse Camp Ground area, finding disposable ponchos, old tents and car parts! The group had a challenging week of weather (as can happen in the mountains) but were treated to a perfect Wednesday for their Glacier Explorer boat trip. Thank you to the students who all participated positively. A special thank you to Ms Munro, Ms Joyce, Mrs Davidson, Mr Pickard and Mr Ritchie for making the trip inspiring and successful.

Student perspectives by Brita Barton

Last week, Year 11 Geographers packed their bags, put on their gumboots and scrambled for a seat on the bus. Mr Bus Driver, A.K.A, Mr Ritchie, cranked the engine and we were off. After a few stops along the way  the geographers finally made it to base camp, Glentanner, situated 15 minutes drive from Mt Cook Village and the Hermitage.

We got settled in and then took off to the braided river. We got into our groups and measured the width and depth of the river. This was very time consuming because we almost got blown away a couple of times. We then repeated this in two other spots. We then measured the speed of the river by floating a feather down it and timing it. We got back to the camp, had some down time, and then dinner was ready!! Although many girls were looking forward to the chicken burgers, they were delightfully surprised with nachos. 

The next morning, everyone woke up bright-eyed and bushy tailed ready to tackle another day at Mt Cook. Today was the day we were mounting the summit of Aoraki!!! We got our ice picks, boots and oxygen tanks prepared. LOL just joking, not quite! However, we were going into the Mt Cook village. We set off and arrived at the DOC centre. We were greeted then taken to a powerpoint room. We listened to TV star and DOC ranger, Ray. He educated us on glaciers, Mt Cook perspectives and the environment. It was very interesting and Ray had many stories to tell. We had morning tea, then another talk. We then went to the Mt Cook transfer station, where we saw gross rubbish, but another DOC ranger told us about how the Mt Cook village sustains a clean environment. Every Wednesday trucks go to the businesses in the village and transport the rubbish out. It is a tricky and expensive business as the village is in a National Park and the rubbish must be disposed of carefully. We came home and began our internal. We were to write up and graph our results from our river study.

The next day, we were woken by Mrs Davidson yelling “we can see MT COOK!!! GIRLS GET UP!!!!” We slid open our cabin doors and there she was standing proud in the distance. Our group was lucky to have even seen the peak of Aoraki as some years the girls left without seeing her face! We headed back into village for another day surrounded by tourists. We arrived at the Hooker Valley walk car park where we started some community work. We were all happy to partake in this activity as we all wanted to preserve the beautiful environment in the National Park.  We then drove into the opposite valley on the other side of Mt Cook. We walked for 20 minutes, then arrived at the boats.  We were strapped into life jackets and got onto boats. The boats took us on the Tasman Lake which over the past decades has been a lake created due to the melting of the Tasman Glacier. It was a great experience, we got to touch icebergs, learn a lot, eat 3000 year old ice and take some photos.

We then headed back to the Mt Cook Village and got to the Hermitage. We were all EXCITED to say the least. It was luxurious and we all “needed to go to the toilet Miss!!”. We then watched a movie about search and rescue missions on the mountain. It was very interesting. We also watched a 3D movie on MT COOK. 

 The next day, we walked the Hooker Valley! It was a really enjoyable walk that took us to the Hooker Lake and the base of Mt Cook. The walk took us three hours return. It was a shame we could not see Mt Cook's head, however we could see icebergs in the lake. We got back to the bus then headed back to Glen Tanner. We then worked on our internals for the remainder of the day. However, this was broken up by lots of milo breaks. We had dinner outside on the last night and packed our bags. 

The last day, we woke up, feeling sad, but glad to be heading back. We packed up, cleaned and got on the bus. . The week away at Mt Cook was so fun, every single person was challenged in different ways and we all enjoyed mingling with the other girls from the other class. We had so much fun and it is a experience I will never forget!!