Watching An Avalanche Come Off a Mountain While Hiking Near New Zealand’s Tallest

<p><em>We watched a piece of ice break off the mountain ahead and then crash down into the valley throwing up a lot of snow spraying through the air like dust. And only then, the sound of the avalanche reached us. It was amazing to realize how &lsquo;slow&rsquo; sound travels.</em></p> <p>We arrived the day before in Twizel, the heart of the Mackenzie Basin and our base for hikes around Aoraki/Mt. Cook, New Zealand&rsquo;s tallest mountain. No rain was predicted but gale-force winds with gusts above 40 knots.</p> <p>That didn&rsquo;t stop us from sticking to our plan and doing the very touristy but scenic hike to Hooker Lake at the base of the mountain. After a quick breakfast, we were on the road before 9 am and as soon as we hit the highway out of town, we saw the beauty.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/globetrotters/watching-an-avalanche-come-off-a-mountain-while-hiking-near-new-zealands-tallest-7edb2a7b43ef"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>