- NZ Roadtrip – South Island – Day 9, 10 & 11
- Aoraki
- Monday 2nd – Wednesday 4th March 2026
Day One
We woke up at Aoraki/Mount Cook surrounded by giants.
In the dark the night before, weโd had no idea what was looming above us. But in the morning light, the mountains revealed themselves, sharp, snow-covered and impossibly close. It felt like opening the van door into another world.
This morning, we didnt rush and enjoyed our surroundings.
Once sorted, we started the day with a hike up to Kea Point. This was a short walk, but the reward was pretty big, views across the Mueller Glacier lake and towering peaks framing the entire valley….mountains AND glaciers….what more could I ask for, my favourite kind of scenery (ow and trees).
After that, we wandered down toward the visitor centre, a walk of just over 3.5 miles round trip as we took our time along the valley floor.
The trail is really well designed, with long stretches of raised boardwalks guiding you through the landscape. Not only does it make the walking easy, but it also helps protect the fragile alpine terrain by keeping visitors off the delicate vegetation.
We stopped in for lunch. A famous mince and cheese pie made an appearance and yes I did say mince and cheese pie and it was absolutely delicious. Road trip fuel at its finest. What more could one want, coffee, cake, mountains and simply sitting and enjoying the view…not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
Inside, we learned more about Edmund Hillary, who trained in these mountains I didn’t know that) before going on to summit Mount Everest.
Reading about that achievement while standing beneath Aoraki felt quite powerful. You could see how this landscape would shape someone/him.
We made our way back across the valley and felt we needed to do another walk/hike to make us feel slightly better about the pie (and vanilla slice!!).
We knew one of the swing bridges on the Hooker Valley Track had been damaged by a storm/flood but later, after dinner we decided to go anyway and possibly catch a sunset. Even if we couldnโt complete it, it was still meant to be beautiful. And it was.
The valley stretches wide and open, glacial rivers rushing beneath your feet, mountains closing in around you from every angle.
On this hike, we passed by a plaque recognising Freda du Faur, who was the first woman to climb Aorakiโ/Mount Cook. She accomplished this amazing feat in 1910 with the help of two guides – she had to take male guides because she was female – and had to wear a long skirt!!!!
Fredaโs Rock is the site where her now famous photograph was taken just after her first successful ascent of the mountain… Freda rocks literally….and we all need to be a bit more Freda!
We continued on the walk and even without reaching the final viewpoint, it didnโt feel like we were missing out. Ok, I lie it did, actually. I was gutted!
The lookout point at the end of the Hooker Valley Track is the closest any walking track comes to Aoraki/Mount Cook and reveals completely unobstructed views of the highest mountain in New Zealand with Hooker Glazier in the valley below. So yes, I wasn’t just gutted, I was devastated! However, getting back to the story….
It was still a lovely hike (but the full one would have been better), in the most awe-inspiring surroundings. I had to give myself a bit of a slap and tell myself that sometimes just being there/here, in the cold air, as we had waited until evening, under these mountains, is more than enough and appreciate what you have.
Day Two
We woke up at Aoraki / Mount Cook with a small but important detail to celebrate, it was Andyโs birthday.
And honestly, if youโre going to have a birthday somewhere, waking up surrounded by giant snow-covered mountains isnโt a bad way to do it.
There was, of course, birthday cake involved. Because birthdays require cake. Even when youโre halfway up the South Island in a campervan called Anaconda.
Once the cake situation had been appropriately handled, we faced the biggest decision of the day, which hike to hike.
Option one was Sealy Tarns Track- Andyโs choice. A solid climb, incredible views and a respectable birthday adventure and involved 2,200 steps (not that we counted).
Option two was Mueller Hut Route – my choice. Longer, steeper and higher. And generally considered one of the more serious hikes in the area.
It took in the Sealy Tarns hike viewpoint, (including the 2,200 steps) and then from there to the summit there was a more natural trail that required boulders crossings, scree and some rocks to navigate, which we much prefer.
Now, given that it was Andyโs birthday, you would naturally assume he would get to choose the hike.
And he absolutely did. Which is how we somehow ended up hiking to Mueller Hut.
Funny how that works eh!
In fairness, going the extra distance turned out to be the best decision we could possibly have made (and he did thank me afterwards).
The higher we climbed, the more the landscape opened up around us, glaciers, jagged peaks and valleys stretching in every direction. It felt wild and enormous and completely unforgettable.
By the time we reached the top, standing there surrounded by that kind of scenery, it didnโt just feel like a hike.
It felt like one of those rare travel days that becomes a story youโll probably tell forever.
Not a bad way to spend a birthday.
However, the next day, the thighs and calves felt horrendous!!
And just when we thought Andyโs birthday couldnโt possibly deliver anything more, the universe decided to add one final surprise.
That night, on 3 March 2026, there was a Total Lunar Eclipse the famous blood moon.
The sky above Aoraki /Mount Cook was unbelievably clear. No clouds, no light pollution, just an enormous black sky stretching endlessly above the mountains. The moon looked huge.
And slowly, minute by minute, we watched it change. The shadow creeping across it, the colour deepening, until that incredible reddish glow appeared. It wasnโt something you glanced at and moved on from, we stood there watching the entire transformation unfold right in front of us.
Above us, the Milky Way stretched across the sky, bright and sharp in a way we have saw on only a few occasions where we have been situated in dark sky areas….you rarely see this so to actually see it is very special.
The sky felt enormous. The mountains silent around us. Just us standing there watching the moon change colour over this dramatic landscapes was special.
Honestly, it was the perfect ending to any day, never mind Andy’s birthday…simplyโฆ wow.
Safe to say Andyโs birthday set the bar ridiculously high for future celebrationsโฆ which is impressive considering Iโm the one who organised the hike, the views, and apparently even the blood moon.
We didnt bring our good camera with us on this trip as we have travelled light but we tried to capture a little of what we saw, which turned out to be rubbish…but here’s our rubbish photos…just magnify this by x1000 and you’ll only begin to understand!
Day Three – one last look
Day three was our final morning in Aoraki / Mount Cook and like all great places on a road trip, leaving felt a little harder than arriving.
Before packing up and hitting the road again, we took one last short walk back toward the bridge along the Hooker Valley Track. It felt like the right way to say goodbye, a quiet wander through the valley with those huge mountains still towering around us.
We lingered for a while, taking in the views one last time. The glacial river rushing beneath us, the sheer scale of the peaks that had surrounded us for the past couple of days.
Road trips have a funny rhythm, you arrive somewhere, fall a little bit in love with it and then before you know it, itโs time to move on again.
Eventually we headed back to the van, packed up our little home on wheels and reluctantly started the drive away.
Aoraki slowly shrinking in the rear-view mirror. Some places you visit. Others stay with you. Mount Cook definitely felt like the second kind.
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