Mount Cook Village, officially Aoraki / Mount Cook, is located within New Zealand's Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park at the end of , only 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. 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 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. 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. History The first building at the location of Mount Cook Village was the second Hermitage hotel, built in 1913 and opened in 1914; however, that building burned to the ground in 1957 and was replaced in 1958 by what later became the current hotel. The 1960s and 1970s saw significant extensions to the hotel and Mount Cook Village, including water mains, sewerage treatment, local streets, and the sealing of State Highway 80, which greatly improved access. A local fire brigade was established in 1976. The official name of the settlement was amended to a dual name, Aoraki / Mount Cook, by the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. Demographics Mount Cook Village is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, and covers . It is part of the Mackenzie Lakes statistical area. Mt Cook Village had a population of 213 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 12 people (6.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3 people (1.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 27 households. There were 99 males and 114 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.87 males per female. The median age was 29.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 24 people (11.3%) aged under 15 years, 87 (40.8%) aged 15 to 29, 93 (43.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 6 (2.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 53.5% European/Pākehā, 2.8% Māori, 8.5% Pacific peoples, 25.4% Asian, and