Day 3 – Mount Cook (Aoraki)
We got up before first light to head out for an activity we’d been anticipating keenly: a plane flight out to a glacier near Mount Cook, followed by a helicopter flight back. Unfortunately, the heavy cloud we drove through yesterday followed us here and the morning flights had to be cancelled. With a full schedule, we were unable to fit into a later flight that day and we had to accept that it wouldn’t happen today.
Disappointed, we decided to make the best of it anyway, drive to the nearby Hooker Valley track and hike this landmark. We set off in heavy fog.
There are three suspension bridges on the path, all of them fine examples of engineering.
We broke up the hike with a spot of geocaching.
We eventually reached the end of the track – Hooker Lake. To our great delight, there were icebergs floating in it! We assume that they were pieces of the nearby glacier.
We explored the lake edge, relaxed a little and balanced some stones.
Having spent a while by the lake, we were all set to head back down when the universe threw us an unexpected prize. In the space of a few minutes, most of the fog obscuring the surrounding mountain range evaporated. It was like a curtain being drawn back to reveal the snow-capped peaks in the background.
It was pretty awe-inspiring to view the scale of the mountains that had previously been hidden from us. It was still a consolation prize for missing out on our flight, but we wouldn’t end the day disappointed.
The hike had ended up being a wonderful experience. From there, it was time for a late lunch in the town of Twizel. We finished up the rest of the day with the journey to Wanaka, by way of picturesque Lindis Pass.
Our accommodation in Wanaka turned out to have a pretty nice view over the nearby lake of the same name. Tomorrow will be more of an opportunity to explore here.
