We drive out of the park early after having a sleepless night in a heavy down pour where winds got up to about 80 mph. People in the campgrounds were abuzz sharing about their sleepless night and comparing stories.
While we drive along highway 80, there was sunshine to the east and rain to the west.  A huge double rainbow travelled with us for miles.
We are driving on the western edge of lake Pukaki with milky blue water and winds so fierce that the lake had good sized waves crashing on its shores.  The glacier carved lake had tall cliffs on one section of its shores which is an unusual geological formation, one we have never seen before.
Later that day, we hear that they closed this section of the road due to the high winds.  Unlike other mountain ranges we have visited in New Zealand, Mount Cook is intimidating and fierce.