Happy New Year!

Since the weather forecast for the last day of the year was great, we got up early and immediately set off from Dunedin towards Mt. Cook. First, we made one last attempt to see penguins and drove to Katiki Point Lighthouse. This is an insider tip and not yet marked with a brown sign. However, we were not the first ones there. There were once again many sea lions - but they put on quite a show for us! The view was also very nice, so it wasn't so bad that there were no penguins again. Shortly afterwards, we reached the Moeraki Boulders. There have been some changes here too and for once we were not alone... Matti jumped into the picture with a Swiss couple, which they responded to with not very friendly words - they didn't expect us to understand them... She was very embarrassed, but we found it quite funny! The temperatures rose quite quickly, so the next stop was in Kurow. We had been there before when we had to take a detour to the West Coast! From there, we drove through incredibly beautiful valleys to Lake Ohau once again. We had a picnic there and enjoyed the absolute peace and quiet before heading towards Mt. Cook. The drive along Lake Pukaki was beautiful and Mt. Cook showed itself from its most beautiful side! We immediately checked into our motel, put on hiking clothes, and headed to the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint and the Blue Lakes. We were sad that we didn't have our bathing suits with us - because the lake was very warm (about like Lake Brienz...) and the air temperature was 29 degrees! That's why we also walked to the jetty of Lake Tasman and dipped our feet in the ice-cold water and looked at the nearby ice floes! In the motel, we took turns taking a shower and in the Old Mountaineer's Cafe, we treated ourselves to a delicious New Year's Eve meal! Around 9 pm, we walked back to the motel dressed for summer and the children went to bed. We wanted to watch the stars, but unfortunately, after 4 stars, it was over and the sky became cloudy! We waited until midnight and got up at 7 am today. Because today we wanted to do the Hookers Valley Track and it gets crowded if you leave too late! We started at 8:15 am with a strong but warm wind through the very varied and lovely valley. We crossed the stream three times on suspension bridges and the tour ended at the glacier lake of Mt. Aoraki (Mt. Cook). Since it was too windy there, we chose a spot between two large rocks to eat something on the way back... On the way back, we encountered whole groups of Japanese people and many other people as well! The wind also got stronger and stronger... We treated ourselves to a coffee at the Hermitage Café and ended the day comfortably in the motel! It was a great start to the year!