Golden Peak - A Sunset Over Mount Cook

Goldener Gipfel - Ein Sonnenuntergang über dem Mount Cook

#Landscape, #NewZealand

Golden Peak - A Sunset Over Mount Cook

Mount Cook, also known as Aoraki, is the highest peak in New Zealand, reaching an elevation of 3,724 meters (12,218 feet). Located in the Southern Alps, it is renowned for its stunning landscapes, including towering peaks, glaciers, and vibrant blue lakes. The area is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering activities such as hiking, climbing, and breathtaking scenic flights.

In February 2023, we visited this gorgeous area of New Zealand and found perfect weather conditions on the 25 February, where we planned to do the Mueller Hut track and spend one night up there. Unfortunately, the hut was already booked out (so if you plan to stay in the hut, make a reservation as soon as possible), so we chose to tent near the hut and use the facilities for 10NZD. The weather forecast was perfectly correct, and so it was icy cold yet a perfect night to take pictures of the night sky...

One can see the Milky Way rising over the famous Mueller Hut in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on the South Island of New Zealand. Thereby, the night sky is a stacked image of 10 images to reduce the noise and to keep details in the Milky Way. The foreground is a slightly longer exposed image to get more details of the hut and the mountains themselves.