The Might of Mount Cook

I’ve always been personally impressed by greatness. The ordinary person that does something unequivocal, something so unlike the ordinary and the day to day, that they elevate themselves to a pedestal where we common folk can only look on in awe.

One of the great experiences of travel that thrills me to the soul is when you are able to walk in the steps of greatness.

I can’t tell you the excitement that breathes through me when I get close to touching the bubble of greatness, that aura that surrounds someone who we all consider extraordinary.

I’m not referring so much to celebrity. It certainly brings a grin to your face when you bump into the President of Egypt outside the World Arab Institute, and it’s certainly a ‘double-take’ moment when you realise that the guy standing in the courtyard of the French Chateau next to you is Mick Jagger; but I’m referring to a different sort of fame. I’m speaking more of sitting in the café where Ernest Hemingway once sat, or listening to the Pope give his address in St Peter’s Square, or standing in front of the divine brush strokes that make that painting by Van Gogh so memorable, or listening to Mikhail Gorbachev drop a joke (and then having to wait for the translation from Russian to understand why he’s giggling!).

One of those thrilling experiences happened to me in a little spot, relatively close to home.

Mt. Cook. Situated on the South Island of New Zealand, Mt. Cook stands at a height of 12,316 feet. It stands taller than Mount Edith Cavell in the Canadian Rockies, taller than Rolling Thunder Mountain in Wyoming or Mount Hampton in Antarctica, taller than Titlis, Pilatus and Schilthorn in Switzerland, taller still than the famed Mount Olympus in Greece, and leaves our poor Kosciuszko far behind. The Maori name for it is... Aoraki – “Cloud Piercer”.

That’s lovely, but is it great? Well bear with me for a moment longer, because the thread of greatness is woven just within our reach.

Go to Aoraki/Mt.Cook National Park. Stop at Mt. Cook Village, at the base of the mountains. You will find there the Hermitage Hotel. Duck in to the Hermitage and have a cup of tea, or a bite to eat in the restaurant. Make sure you ask for a seat right next to the magnificent two-storey high, floor to ceiling windows that offer the most amazing view of Mt. Cook. Take a breath, look over at the mountain... and realise that you are sitting in the exact spot where Sir Edmund Hillary sat; where the great man looked over at that same marvel of nature, and decided that he would like to climb mountains. Beat that with a stick.

Postscipt: I will always remember Hillary’s first words to his teammate and dear friend George Lowe, upon returning from the summit of his successful conquest of Everest: “Well George, we’ve knocked the bastard off.” That’s the Kiwi version of great and humble.

© KM Francis July 2008

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