Family hiking in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
4 min read
We enjoyed a memorable 3-day stay in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, trekking 10 km through stunning scenery of the Hooker Valley track and taking a refreshing dip in glacier lakes.
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Getting There
After a long drive from Te Anau/Milford Sound, we reached Glentanner in the heart of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The journey was familiar, with a significant portion along Highway 94, which we had traversed previously from Queenstown.
One thing to know about Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is that the nearest grocery store is south of it in city called Twizel. Its the only supermarket for miles, so highly recommend that you stock up there first if you are staying a few days in the park.
Driving north from Twizel, Mt Cook just towered in the distance. You drive along the edge of the vibrant blue Lake Pukaki as you approach and there are several places that you feel like you should just pull over and take a picture, but even those don’t do it justice.
The Glentanner Park Centre welcomed us with its informative visitor center and the option to schedule helicopter rides. However, our focus was on the holiday park itself, offering stunning mountain views and a quick 10-minute trail leading to Lake Pukaki. We opted for a self-contained unit, complete with a bathroom and kitchen, but there are budget-friendly shared bunk options and an RV park. The shared kitchen and bathroom facilities were spacious and well-maintained.
Hooker Valley Track
If you are planning a visit to Aoraki/Mt Cook, you should allow for at least three days, as the weather can be cloudy two out of three days a year. We were quite lucky and it was sunny for two full days. This was going to be our longest hike of our trip to South Island this year, so when it was clear the the first morning, we went straight to the track.
Our 10 km hiking equipment
- 2 x 3 litre water bladders
- 2 x hiking child carriers
- 1 x OSM Bar chocolate pack — See similar on Amazon
- Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch
- Sun hats & Sunscreen (absolute necessity, you burn so fast in New Zealand)
- A good waterproof camera like a GoPro 12
The Hooker Valley track only has about 124m of elevation gain, so it wasn’t very steep except for one small section of stairs. It takes about 3-hours out and back, but took us 3.5 hours with the two youngest wanting to hike for about 30% of it.
Swing Bridges
Three picturesque swing bridges spanned the river at the 1km, 2.5km, and just before the hill leading to the lake.
Hooker Valley Lake
The pinnacle of the hike is arriving at the lake. It is a glacier lake and signs all around say to be careful as it is only 3° C! We didn’t bring a change of clothes or towels, so I just took my shoes off and waded in.
There are ice chunks floating in the lake that have broken off the glacier and washed down through the river. I spent a good amount of time pulling them ashore so that the kids could play with them.
After spending about an hour by the lake, we retraced our steps, finding the return journey surprisingly quicker.
Polar Plunge
I really wanted to do the polar plunge so later evening I drove back to do a 10km sunset run. I caught the last sunset glow on the mountain. It was quite a different experience from our hike earlier in the day, as there weren’t crowds of people, just me. Leslie ventured early the next morning to the ice-filled Tasman Lake to catch the sunrise. It’s on the other side of the mountain and is an option for a shorter hike as it is only around 40 min out and back.
Definitely one of my favorite areas of New Zealand!