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Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

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Jack Ventura
Jack Ventura
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5 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Something for Everyone

  • July 31, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
Something for Everyone

Some of the best walking you will get in New Zealand is in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

Though it is a large area with a little population, New Zealand is in many ways very restrictive about what you can do in the outdoors. And because of the number of people who come to New Zealand to hike and camp, it means that the places you do get to hike are often either crowded or expensive. Some of the walks you even have to reserve months ahead of time, or pay thousands of dollars to do.

But the walks in Mt Cook National Park are a very good selection of hiking options, and though they are likely to be at least dotted with other walking travellers, you may well get a bit of space to yourself, too. And since this is one of the reasons many people love hiking - it is an obvious plus for this area.

It does take a little bit of work to get here. And unless you hitch hike (something that you can do fairly safely in New Zealand - assuming you take the proper precautions) it would be good for you to have your own car to get here.

It's also a good place to bike to. Living in Lake Tekapo at the start of the McKenzie range, I met quite a few cyclists who were on their way to Mt Cook. This is also, actually a very nice way to view the countryside and really take in the space and solitude of the area.

The other great thing about the hikes in Mt Cook National Park are the varying degrees of walk. If you are visiting and staying at the Hermitage with family and want a very easy little hour wander, then that is available. If you just want to meander through some great scenery then there are plenty of options for that. There a few middle sized walks on only the slightest of inclines if you just want to get out for the afternoon with out doing a full trek.
And if your suited up and ready for days on the hike, then there are those options as well.

I highly recommend checking out the Mt Cook website before you go, and getting a feel for what options there are, or going in and speaking to a local I-site or the staff at The Hermitage to talk about what you want to do and what is available in the area.

For a good little hike I can highly recommend the walk up to the Tasman glacier. Also the Hooker valley hikes are really spectacular.

And if at all possible (especially for photographers) try to plan some walks here in late spring early summer (Nov -early Dec) As the lupins spring up and cover the area with an astounding array of color. It in itself worth the walk for.
Also if you plan to do any proper hiking check out the New Zealand DOC office for what if any regulations there are. Sometimes you need to notify them ahead of time where you are going to walk.

From journal The Journey Towards Mount Cook

Editor Pick

Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

  • February 3, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Jack Ventura from Scottsdale, Arizona
Aoraki Mount Cook National Park


Ao-raki, the petrified son of the Maori Sky Father. Mount Cook, the crown of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, rises steeply from the Mackenzie Basin of tussock grass and alpine buttercups. There are several routes, including coach bus and plane, but we drove along the turquoise, glacier-fed waters of Lake Pukaki in two large rental vans.

We arrived early, so I first turned onto Tasman Valley Road. A brief, bumpy drive led to a parking lot fronting an unattended info/exhibit structure. From there, it was a steady 30-minute, 100m ascent to Glacier Lookout for a grand view of miniature kayakers on Terminal Lake being led by guides to the lip of Tasman Glacier. Two of our elder friends tuckered out and hiked instead to the twin Blue Lakes about halfway up, but the pair’s later comeuppance was a helicopter ride to the slopes of the glacier itself.

There is only one venue for accommodations at Mount Cook Village, but there are four choices. At the top is the venerable Hermitage Hotel whose rooms run from NZ$310 up to NZ$480 for one in the newer Aoraki Wing. The Glencoe Lodge is your standard hotel. It costs about NZ$200. There are several alpine chalet units for NZ$160. Lastly, there are the "motels". This is where all of us stayed, and I can’t recommend them more highly. The 32 motel units are basically duplex apartments, either one-room studio (NZ$150) or two-room family suites in several configurations, each with complete kitchens. For four people, and more, at NZ$225, we had a relaxed, leisurely stay. The only oddity about them is that they have big shower stalls, no tubs. The rates also included complimentary continental breakfast provided at the coffee shop on the second mezzanine floor of the Hermitage, which by the way has great alfresco picnic tables with terrace views of Mount Cook. It opens at 7:30am, and also sells groceries. There’s an hourly 24-hour shuttle bus that services all the accommodations and the D.O.C. office that serves as a visitor’s information centre, but it’s all within five minutes of walking and I don’t think any of us used it.

Because there's only one venue, advance reservations are absolutely necessary. In fact, six months may be too late and you may have to settle on lesser accommodations in the sleepy town of Twizel, 70km away.

Most of us made the required reservations, NZ$47 prepaid, for a buffet dinner at the Hermitage’s Alpine Restaurant. It, too, is an excellent dining experience, with a vast selection of food. The giant A-frame window forms the perfect screen to watch the long summer day’s changing colors reflecting off Mount Cook’s white-capped canvas.

The National Park, a world heritage site, has about a dozen hiking tracks to choose from. I persuaded one of my friends to accompany me to Kea Point Lookout for a stunning view of Mueller Glacier &andLake, about an hour’s easy walk. The short, strenuous, and less-scenic Governor’s Bush Track provided my morning’s exercise.

From journal Caravanning New Zealand's South Island

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