Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand
December 24th, 2006 / / Links: Google Earth, Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, Virtual Earth / Nearest placesAoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, a peak in the Southern Alps range that 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 Kāi Tahu and the Crown in 1998, the name of the mountain was officially changed from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook to incorporate its original name, Aoraki. As part of the settlement, a number of South Island placenames were appended with their Māori name. Signifying the importance of Aoraki/Mount Cook, it is the only one of these names where the Māori name precedes the English. In the terms of the settlement, the Crown also agreed to return title to Aoraki/Mount Cook to Kāi Tahu, who would then formally gift it back to the nation.
























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