Day 2

We left Lake Tekapo for Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. Along the way, we stopped at a few places. First up was one of the viewpoints of Lake Pukaki.

Then we drove on to Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon Shop, situated on the edge of Lake Pukaki with a great view of Aoraki a.k.a Mt. Cook. Naz bagged himself a small tub of Mt. Cook salmon pâté, which was so fatty and delicious! We polished it off with some crackers. We also rested and took in the view from outside the shop and tried to befriend a skittish cat.

We then made our way to Peter’s Lookout, which is one of those famous New Zealand photo spots where you see Lake Pukaki, Mt. Cook, and a highway curving around the corner.

At the national park, the main item on the agenda was to do the Hooker Valley walk. We embarked on it, excited for the 4-hour hike, only to come to an abrupt stop at the first swing bridge. The trail was closed beyond that point due to flood damage.

We were slightly bummed but we brushed it off. The walk up till that point was enjoyable and the views were amazing, so we didn’t complain. We made our way back to the car park to start on another walk – up to Kea Point. We didn’t see any keas there, though. At the end of the trail, we were treated to views of Mount Sefton, Mueller Lake and Mount Cook.

We then headed towards Tasman Glacier for our last walk for the day. I had underestimated this walk, and sighed when I saw that there were a whole lot of steps up to the viewpoint. Gritting my teeth, I dragged myself up the steps. And you know what they say, the harder the journey, the sweeter the victory. The view up there was breathtaking.

And if I thought the walk up to Tasman Glacier View was hard, wait till I get to Roy’s Peak! Now that’s another post for another day.

Where we stayed

We didn’t stay in Mt. Cook Village. Instead, we chose to put up for the night in this airbnb in Twizel, which is a small town known as a gateway to the Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park.

This standalone guest unit was a pleasure to stay in, and is definitely one of my favourites during the trip! It has great views of the surrounding mountain range, and since it came with a well-equipped kitchen, we whipped up a hearty dinner – well-deserved after the physical exertion done in the day.