It was perhaps not the best idea to start off our South Island trip with a stop at Mount Cook.

These are photos from the Hooker Valley track, which we did in the morning, and from the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier walks, which we did in the afternoon until sundown. Being able to do these routes was a very happy accident - we had planned (booked and paid) for a heli-tour and hike on Fox Glacier, and only realised the night before that there was absolutely no way for us to get there in time. I truly have no idea how this happened because both of us had checked the routes for our itinerary separately and this was never an issue. I suspected that it could be because of the closure of Highway 6, but even that route would’ve taken a good 6 hours. Unsolved mysteries….

Regardless, I forgot all about it once I started on the Hooker Valley track. This was truly the most low-effort-high-reward walk, with the most unreal picturesque scenery. It was a 3-hour round trip, with the return being much faster (as usual). I think we also took a much longer time than needed because some of the way to the Hooker Lake was at a slight incline, and many parts of the path were covered with a sheet of ice that began to melt from around 10.30AM. Loads of people slipped and fell (including us), so it’s probably good to have micro-spikes on hand in the wintertime - especially for elderly folk.

Truly so beautiful and a great way to start my first trip to New Zealand. The only problem was that every hike we did afterwards was compared to this, and I don’t even think the other places stood a chance given how easy and enjoyable these walks were. Already can’t wait to check out the other routes in the area!