February 17, 2019
At 6 AM Heinrich reported it was overcast outside, so we slept in for another hour. By 7 AM it was partially clear. We were up and out by 7:30. It was cold outside, the coldest I have been since the Tongariro Crossing hike.
We planned to spend the entire day exploring Mount Cook National Park. It was about a 45-minute drive from our motel room in Twizel to Mount Cook Village where the visitor center was located. I drove up the west shore of Lake Pukaki and stopped at an overlook. There was a low band of clouds surrounding Mount Cook, but the mountain top was clear. The sun was too low to give the lake its usual intense blue color.
I drove into Mount Cook National Park and we stopped near the entrance to take some photos. The mountains were gorgeous in the morning light with wisps of fog as the clouds were starting to clear. At the visitor center I bought a day walk guide for $2. We decided to hike the Hooker Valley Track. The NZ Frenzy book recommended to take this hike if the weather was clear. The forecast at the visitor center was partly cloudy until noon, then increasing clouds followed by rain in the afternoon. Since it was a 3-hour return hike, we had time to do it before the conditions deteriorated.
It turned out to be a great hike! The views of Mount Cook were stunning. The weather actually improved until it was partly cloudy. The trail was easy and wide with a very gradual ascent. Along the way there were three long swinging bridges to cross. There were several ribbon waterfalls cascading down from the mountain glaciers. The view of the glaciers was much better than at Franz Josef. We could see patches of blue ice, and some of the snow was tinged pink.
Near the beginning of the hike we heard a distant booming noise. It sounded a bit like thunder but we knew it was not due to the nice weather. I think we heard a rock fall or maybe a small avalanche. A few minutes later there appeared to be a small cloud hanging over the mountain. It dissipated quickly. This may have been a dust cloud resulting from the fallout.
The trail ended at Lake Hooker. Across the lake we could see the glacier moraine, and in the lake there were a few icebergs. We stopped near the lakeshore for snacks and then went down to the lakeshore for pictures.
This was a crowded trail, not as bad as the Tongariro Crossing but there were no periods of solitude. On the way back the numbers of people increased due to the time of day. Shortly after we left the lake just before noon, clouds started rolling in over the mountain tops, partially obscuring the view. We timed that well.
We took a second hike to the Tasman Valley Glacier view. It was a short steep walk up many steps to a viewpoint of the Tasman Glacier and its terminal moraine. The lake in front was gray colored from all of the silt and littered with icebergs. It was well worth the hike. We skipped the walk to the lakeshore and boat jetty. Later we found out this was a good hike as well since it got closer to the icebergs. We will save this for our next visit to New Zealand.
Heinrich drove us back to the hotel. On the way we stopped again at the Lake Pukaki Lookout, and the water was much more blue. Time for more pictures!
Back at the hotel we used the laundry facilities. This should be our last load before we reach home.
The hotel had a grill, so we stopped at the Four Square grocery and bought some porterhouse steaks, a couple of potatoes and coleslaw. The dinner was delicious, and it was still much cheaper than dining out. We chatted for a while with a couple from Canada that had been touring for four weeks, and we compared our experiences.
We spent the rest of the evening planning for the next day and making blog updates. We saw nice pink cloud colors of the sunset outside the room.