Mount Cook – those who can wait...

(Caution, spoiler :-) … it is rewarded!

We wake up early, as we still have about an hour's drive from Twizel to the highest mountain in New Zealand and we want to get there before the Asian visitors, who always arrive in droves, based on our previous experiences.

The weather in Twizel is rather mediocre. A few clouds but also visible blue sky. The national park promises the best weather. We hope that the weather will clear up completely after the drive and that we will be able to see the magnificent mountain.

Mount Cook, also known as Aoraki, is about 3,800 meters tall, making it the highest mountain in New Zealand, located in the Southern Alps here in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. That's already an impressive height. Our Zugspitze is about a kilometer lower...

Several glaciers descend from the Mount Cook area, including the Fox Glacier and the Franz Josef Glacier. The upper section is always covered with snow.

We set off and discover more and more clouds, which make us fear that the mountain will not reveal itself to us anytime soon. But giving up is not an option; we will see this through.

We get closer to the area and are confronted with low-hanging clouds. Will we see anything of Mount Cook and the surrounding mountains today? Undeterred, we start on the Hooker Valley Track. A hiking trail that takes about three hours. Sounds good, we think. An hour and a half for the way there... maybe we'll be lucky...

The track is quite moderate. Not too steep, good paths. However, there are three swing bridges that we have to cross. But after I conquered the last swing bridges and am considered the "Master of the Swinging Bridges,” it should not be a problem... ;-)

And it isn't! We walk the path and our wish for the cloud cover to clear does not really come true. Nothing to see. The view maybe stretches a hundred meters upwards.

After about an hour and a half, we arrive at the glacier lake, Hooker Lake, which is here not blue or turquoise but rather light brown. A few small icebergs are floating in it...

Not much can be seen of Mount Cook itself, especially not the peak. It remains hidden in the clouds. The surrounding mountains do not allow for a view of the summits either. Only a few smaller glaciers and the resulting waterfalls are visible.

We decide to give the peak a little time to make an appearance. There are many others here with us who, like us, want to wait. We take a seat on a rocky ridge above the glacier lake and make ourselves comfortable, as comfortable as one can on rocks. We unpack our obligatory Cocosnutty Crunchy cookies and nibble on them to pass the time meaningfully...

The wait seems worthwhile; the clouds are thinning a bit and actually, they are parting. Only a few minutes separate us from capturing images with clouds around the summit and having a clear view of Mount Cook. As a reward for our roughly hour-long wait, we get a blue sky with a Mount Cook peak that is heavily covered in snow. A fantastic sight.

The waiting crowd around us comes alive, and everywhere phones and cameras are drawn. We do the same, of course. With the peak of Mount Cook, the other peaks become visible as well. We are simply thrilled and happy!

We stay there for a while longer, taking in the panoramic view.

But eventually, we decide to make our way back. It is still about an hour and a half.

We keep looking back, admiring the blue sky, and retake the pictures we took on the way there in “bad” weather, this time with the sun.

At the end of the Hooker Valley Track, we make a detour to Tasman Lake, which, as New Zealand's largest glacier lake, boasts the corresponding turquoise color. Additionally, there are a few icebergs floating in it.

We get back into our car and drive – very satisfied with our accomplishments – back to our chalet.