Mt Cook Adventure

It's my second trip to New Zealand and in particular the South Island. Surprisingly, it did bring me different experiences. I am going to deviate from my usual practice of blogging in sequence by starting with the most memorable place of interest.

Mt Cook and the surrounding areas are really scenic with blessings from the weather god. I am glad to have seen Mt Cook and Lake Pukaki during sunny days. I was travelling from the West Coast to Mt Cook so the first lookout point that I have stopped at was the Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre. I had planned to stop here as I could also buy Salmon sashimi from Mt Cook Salmon Farm. I have read that this location gave good views of Mt Cook and hence decided to stop here. It was a great decision as I was blown away by the scenery that unfolded before me. I saw some mirror images of Mt Cook though it was a bit far away. I feel that the pictures I took was unable to convey the beauty of what we had seen with our eyes. 

Mt Cook from Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre

After our short rest at the benches, we headed towards Mt Cook. The drive to Mt Cook from lake Pukaki is another feast to the eyes. The road itself is pretty straight and rather easy to drive. 

We checked into the Hermitage chalet. Its a small and cosy house in the valley. We could hear the sound of the strong wind clearly. All the activities and restaurants are situated in the main hotel building which was around a few mins car ride away. Its within walking distance if one wants to walk. The price of the meals in Hermitage Hotel is above average but well it's understandable given the location and limited competition. 

Mt Cook during the sunset- View from the Hermitage hotel

We went for hiking on the hooker valley route the next morning. It's a blessing that it's sunny when we hiked. The strong wind over the night and the weather forecast made me worried that we would not be able to do the hike.

View from our chalet 

Hooker Valley Hike

We started the hooker valley hike from the White Horse Hill campground which was just a short car ride from our chalet. The next 3h plus was a scenic journey. The hike itself wasn't too strenuous with broadwalks at certain sections and just a fair bit of steep slopes. It was a really windy day. The strong wind occasionally made it harder to walk. We were really lucky as rain started to pour after we finished the hike. 

Mueller lake lookout

First swing bridge

2nd swing bridge

Third and final swing bridge. Still a distance from the end of the hike  

The glacier lake that marks the end of the track . After a short rest at the benches, we headed back on the same route. 

Small ice bergs in the glacier lake

Driving from Mt Cook to Mt John observatory 

The scenic adventure didn't end as we left Mt Cook. It was initially gloomy and grey in the morning but the sun started to break out of the thick layers of clouds as we drove out to the Mt John Observatory and lake Tekapo. The blue colour of lake pukaki is so mesmerizing under the sun. We stopped by the Peter's lookout to take picture of the amazing lake. After the Peter's lookout, we headed for Mt John observatory. The GPS took us to the Tekapo canal road which was a private road that was closed half way through. We had to rely on google map to bring us back to the correct route to Mt John. However, it was a good detour on hindsight as we were brought to a salmon farm and the scenery enroute was really nice. 

Scenery during the drive to Tekapo canal road