Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

Lake Matheson, New Zealand

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, park, west-central South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1953, it has an area of 273 square miles (707 square km) and has a common western boundary with Westland National Park. The park extends for about 40 miles (65 km) along the crest of the Southern Alps. At the park’s widest point, the eastern boundary is 10 miles (16 km) from the main divide of the Southern Alps. Some 27 peaks rising above 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) are located within the park. Mount Cook (Maori: Aoraki), the highest point in New Zealand at 12,316 feet (3,754 metres), dominates the valleys, glaciers, and surrounding peaks.

More than a third of the park is covered by permanent snow and glacial ice. The Tasman, Godley, and Murchison are the principal rivers, being the outfall of park glaciers of the same names. Trees include beech, tussock, ribbonwood, alpine scrub, tree daisies, and celery pine. There are kea (alpine parrot), rock wren, bush hawk, pipit, pigeon, fantail, warbler, and a number of other varieties of birdlife. Animal life includes the tahr (a type of wild goat), chamois, red deer, and feral cat. Mountain climbing, skiing, hunting, and walking provide recreation to visitors. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is part of the Te Wahipounamu (South West New Zealand) area, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.