5.3 Site assessment

Based on the site analysis, I identified a list of opportunities and challenges for each aesthetic property in the context of the Park the Haupapa/Tasman Glacier site. For the Park, I only looked at the first two mental states, because the Park is considered to be the build up to the landscape experience at the site. At the site, all three mental states are explored.

5.3.1 AORAKI/MT. COOK NATIONAL PARK

DESIRED MENTAL STATE

Purpose, focus, p urity of mind

C oncentration AESTHETIC PROPERTIES

Otherworldly space

Awareness

OPPORTUNITIES

! Sublime qualities: huge scale, dramatic mountains, bright blue Lake Pukaki as glacier’s farthest extent ! Turn off from highway 80 onto a single road that is in continual ascent ! Perception of a national park is to escape the everyday (possesses ‘otherworldly’ status)

! Well-established visitor centre ! Culture of interpretive signage

Solemn tranquility

Slowness

! Foggy days and night are quiet ! National Park as an escape from busy every day life

! Long ascent up the mountain, linear Park ! Well-established trail network and hiking culture ! Newly-established bicycle route

DESIRED MENTAL S TATE AESTHETIC P ROPERTIES OPPORTUNITIES Table 5-2. Opportunities and challenges for the aesthetic properties in Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park.

Purpose, focus, p urity of mind

Otherworldly space

! Moraine as natural enclosure ! Scale and expanse of rock field, lake, and glacier is unlike anything from everyday life

Concentration

Melancholic c ontemplation

Awareness

! Blue Lakes Day Shelter ! Information board at the Viewpoint

Solemn tranquility

Slowness

Temporality

(Un)familiarity

! Flowing river ! Melting ice-bergs ! Rocks everywhere to sit on ! Off-peak hours and season are quiet ! Natural monochrome (grey, brown, white)

! Established trail network ! Tiring ascent up the moraine

! Landscape dynamism ! Diurnal and seasonal rhythms ! Glacier retreat

! Available local materials –boulders ! Ngãi Tahu creation stories ! Almost scaleless landscape

CHALLENGES

! Unclear signage from Highway 80 ! Official Aoraki/Mt. Cook Park boundary is arbitrary and not informed by the landscape

! Visitor centre is hidden and not enroute to attractions

! Helicopters operate daily from 10am-4pm ! Mass tourism

! Driving as primary mode of transportation mode until trailheads

CHALLENGES

! All trails are treated the same, so the trails around Haupapa don’t feel unique ! Unclear trail starting points

! Blue Lakes Day Shelter only provides information about plants ! Limited information at the viewpoint that does not explain the glacier process or the colour of the lake

! Helicopter noise ! Limited designated seating ! Crowded viewpoint ! Mass tourism, congestion on the trail, overcrowded car park

! ‘On the way’ quick two-way trail ! Drive directly to the trailhead

! Feasibility is a concern

! Almost scaleless landscape

Design guidelines ! Sublime qualities: huge scale, dramatic mountains, bright blue Lake Pukaki as glacier’s farthest extent ! Turn off from highway 80 onto a single road that is in continual ascent ! Perception of a national park is to escape the everyday (possesses ‘otherworldly’ status)

Awareness

! Well-established visitor centre ! Culture of interpretive signage

Concentration

Solemn tranquility

! Foggy days and night are quiet ! National Park as an escape from busy every day life

5.3.2 HAUPAPA/TASMAN GLACIER SITE Slowness ! Long ascent up the mountain, linear Park ! Well-established trail network and hiking culture ! Newly-established bicycle route

DESIRED MENTAL STATE

P urpose, focus, p urity of mind

C oncentration

M elancholic c ontemplation AESTHETIC PROPERTIES

Otherworldly space

Awareness

Solemn tranquility

Slowness

Temporality

(Un)familiarity

O PPORTUNITIES

! Moraine as natural enclosure ! Scale and expanse of rock field, lake, and glacier is unlike anything from everyday life

! Blue Lakes Day Shelter ! Information board at the Viewpoint

! Flowing river ! Melting ice-bergs ! Rocks everywhere to sit on ! Off-peak hours and season are quiet ! Natural monochrome (grey, brown, white)

! Established trail network ! Tiring ascent up the moraine

! Landscape dynamism ! Diurnal and seasonal rhythms ! Glacier retreat

! Available local materials –boulders ! Ngãi Tahu creation stories ! Almost scaleless landscape

Landscape layers

! Natural layering –moraine, lake, glacier, mountains, sky

Multi-sensory, immersive

Attention to absence

! Cold water, ice

! Glacier retreat ! Viewpoint towards the glacier

Table 5-3. Opportunities and challenges for the aesthetic properties at Haupapa/Tasman Glacier site.

! Unclear signage from Highway 80 ! Official Aoraki/Mt. Cook Park boundary is arbitrary and not informed by the landscape

! Visitor centre is hidden and not enroute to attractions

! Helicopters operate daily from 10am-4pm ! Mass tourism

! Driving as primary mode of transportation mode until trailheads

CHALLENGES

! All trails are treated the same, so the trails around Haupapa don’t feel unique ! Unclear trail starting points

! Blue Lakes Day Shelter only provides information about plants ! Limited information at the viewpoint that does not explain the glacier process or the colour of the lake

! Helicopter noise ! Limited designated seating ! Crowded viewpoint ! Mass tourism, congestion on the trail, overcrowded car park

! ‘On the way’ quick two-way trail ! Drive directly to the trailhead

! Feasibility is a concern

! Almost scaleless landscape

! Difficult to access each ‘layer’, because they are so large and terrain is unstable

! Challenge to get to the water and ice ! Traditional trails are for ‘views’

! If the glacier disappears completely, the trail loses the primary attraction ! Current staircase does not orient to Haupapa