Around Mount Cook

On Friday, January 20th, we were able to have breakfast outside again after days. How beautiful! The sun warmed us up and we really enjoyed our breakfast in nature. This free overnight spot with a view of the mountains and the clear lake was really nice.

After eating, we continued and only had to drive a few kilometers until we reached Lake Pukaki. From the lake, you have a great view of the Southern Alps and New Zealand's highest mountain, Mount Cook or Aoraki (3724m). The sunny weather made the view clear and the scenery truly breathtaking. The lake also showed itself from its most beautiful side, as the minerals from the glacier water made it look impenetrably turquoise in the sun. Great!

After we had enjoyed the view for a long time, we turned onto Mount Cook Road and drove almost 60 km to Mount Cook Village. On this route, we had a new and fantastic view to admire practically all the time. In the village, there was a visitor center where we wanted to get information about hiking trails, and where we quickly concluded that we wanted to do the Hooker Valley Walk. This led in 5 km from the 759m high parking lot to the 882m high glacier lake at the end of the valley. Many beautiful views, suspension bridges, waterfalls, and views of Mount Cook included. Before we set off for the starting point of the hike, we read some information in the visitor center because there were very interesting texts and pictures about the first climbs of the highest mountain. Crazy to see with what equipment people used to climb up there!

After we had parked our car in the parking lot (it was so full, we were glad to have found a place!), we set off. And there were really so many people on the way as the many cars suggested. We haven't hiked such a crowded trail in a long time! But the further we walked, the fewer people there were, and that was quite pleasant. The path itself was really fantastic, with great views and a gigantic nature. We were just glad that we had brought something to put on because it was noticeably cooler further inside the valley.

At the end of the path, there was a small picnic area by the lake where we rested and had something to eat. The view of Mount Cook was truly breathtaking, and the glacier lake with its ice blocks also impressed us. After the break, we headed back on the path and after a total of 3 hours, we were back at the car.

Next, we drove to the Tasman Glacier, which is located in a valley on the other side of the Mount Cook Range. The Hooker Valley was practically to the left of the mountain range, and now we drove around and could see Mount Cook from the right. Actually, our legs were already pretty tired from the walk just now, but you don't come to the Southern Alps every day, so we still took the 15-minute, quite steep climb to the viewpoint overlooking the Tasman Glacier. From above, you had a phenomenal view of the valley, the glacier, and the glacier lake, with the glacier being the least impressive of all things. You could only see a narrow bright strip of it at the edge of the lake, the rest was covered with black stones. But the lake with its extraordinary color and the floating ice blocks was very beautiful to look at. And of course, you must not forget the view of the other side, which made you believe that the valley had no end.

After a while, we started the descent again and around 5 o'clock we were on our way out of the mountains. After a 2-hour drive to the northeast, we arrived at a free campsite where we wanted to spend the night. By now, we were also quite close to Christchurch and the east coast of the South Island. The next morning, we would continue to Kaikoura, where we were looking forward to our whale watch tour. In any case, the evening went as always and there was the simplest meal ever, pasta with pesto. It's always super quick, tastes good, and there's enough left for lunch the next day. Very practical!