Mount Cook Village

Mount Cook Village
Town
Aoraki / Mount Cook
Mount Cook Village down below in Hooker Valley, The Hermitage on the left, lodge & motel complex on the bottom right
Mount Cook Village down below in Hooker Valley, The Hermitage on the left, lodge & motel complex on the bottom right
Map
Coordinates: 43°44′0″S 170°5′44″E / 43.73333°S 170.09556°E / -43.73333; 170.09556
CountryNew Zealand
IslandSouth Island
RegionCanterbury
Territorial AuthorityMackenzie District
WardPukaki Ward
CommunityTwizel Community
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial authorityMackenzie District Council
 • Regional councilEnvironment Canterbury
 • Mayor of MackenzieAnne Munro
 • Waitaki MPMiles Anderson
 • Te Tai Tonga MPTākuta Ferris
Area
 • Total4.26 km2 (1.64 sq mi)
Elevation
750 m (2,460 ft)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • Total200
 • Density47/km2 (120/sq mi)

Mount Cook Village, officially Aoraki / Mount Cook,[a] is located within New Zealand's Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park at the end of State Highway 80, only 15 kilometres (9.3 mi)[3] south of the summit of the country's highest mountain, also called Aoraki / Mount Cook, in the Southern Alps.

Being situated inside a National Park, it is not possible to own property in Mount Cook Village; however, because of the year-round operation of the hotel and motels, the village has a small permanent population of around 250.[4]

All buildings and facilities operate on concessions and leases from the government. The village has no grocery stores apart from a small in-hotel convenience store. The nearest supermarket is 65 kilometres (40 mi) away in Twizel, the closest town. There is a self-service petrol pump behind the hotel complex; however, the fuel price reflects the remote location.[citation needed]

Mount Cook Village operates a small school with a roll as low as a dozen children, the only school in New Zealand inside a national park.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Aoraki/Mount Cook, Canterbury - NZ Topo Map". NZ Topo Map. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference pandp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Charlie Mitchell (12 August 2016). "Mt Cook: The tiny school in the shadow of the mountain". Stuff. Retrieved 25 August 2016.


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