 Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, a peak in the Southern Alps range, which runs the length of the West Coast of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. The Tasman Glacier and Hooker Glacier flow down its slopes.
Following the settlement between Kai Tahu and the Crown in 1998, the name of the mountain was officially changed from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook to incorporate its Maori name, Aoraki. As part of the settlement, a number of South Island placenames were appended with their Maori name. Signifying the importance of Aoraki/Mount Cook, it is the only one of these names where the Maori name precedes the English. Under the settlement the Crown agreed to return title to Aoraki/Mount Cook to Kai Tahu, who would then formally gift it back to the nation. |
