Exploring Aoraki/ Mount Cook National Park

The drive from Queenstown to Mount Cook Village was nothing short of spectacular, particularly through Lindis Pass, and on the approach to the village where the road travels alongside the stunning Lake Pukaki - the setting for Lake Town in The Hobbit!

Lindis Pass

Lake Pukaki

Driving into the valley where the village is nestled under a circle of mountains, though, really took my breath away. When I found it again all I could manage to repeat over and over again as I approached the village was "Wow, oh wow." I could hardly believe that this place actually existed in real life and wasn't part of a fantasy movie.

I stayed at the YHA hostel, and was actually so impressed by it, it was big, clean, well-equipped and the staff were super friendly and helpful. I arrived mid-afternoon, and they advised me on short hikes I could do before sunset. I dumped my bags and headed quickly to the Tasman Glacier walk. Atmospheric in the low light, I followed the track and made the short but steep climb up to the glacier viewpoint. Honestly, I'm running out of adjectives already for this post, but, again, it was absolutely stunning. The twilight sky reflected in the glacier lake that mirrored the snow-capped mountains surrounding it, which, although some low clouds obscured the view, in turn reflected the red of the setting sun.

My awe at the spectacular view was tinged with sadness though, when I read the sign that informed me that not so long ago the entire lake was a glacier, and that it was melting at an alarming rate. How sad that our careless lifestyles have such a dramatic effect on the beautiful planet we've been given, but it makes me more determined to change my lifestyle and hopefully inspire others to do the same!

As the sun set I headed back to the hostel to spend the evening cosy in front of their roaring fire, before an even more incredibly beautiful hike on the Hooker Valley track the next day.

A 12 km walk in total, to and from my hostel, it was one of those hikes that delivered something new and incredibly beautiful at every turn (again there was a monologue of 'wow, wow, oh wow" throughout). Though it was by no means a tough hike, I was pretty proud of myself for completing it. For some reason I always underestimate my fitness ability, and get anxious before hikes that I'll get embarrassingly out of breath or my little legs won't be able to keep up with the group. Maybe it's something to do with always being crap at PE in school, but I don't give myself enough credit, and sometimes I end up excluding myself from things or counting myself out because of it. But you know what #thisgirlcan, and in this instance #thisgirldid! A benefit of travelling solo is that I can set  my own pace and break when I need to (which wasn't actually that often) without feeling embarrassed.

The track took me through valleys of rocky terrain, past lakes and alpine streams, over rivers via some very wobbly swing bridges and finally to the iceberg-spotted Hooker Lake, in the shadow of Mount Cook. The scenery throughout was otherworldly-beautiful, and honestly I wouldn't have been surprised if an elf or a hobbit popped out somewhere at any point.

Later that evening I eschewed the offer of  $200 stargazing tour and stood outside the hostel with an app that told me what stars I was seeing. Mount Cook/Aorki National Park is the largest dark sky reserve in the world, so I saw A LOT. It was truly an incredible sight to see the entire night sky sparkling away, even Jupiter was clearly visible with the naked eye. Unfortunately it was absolutely freezing outside, so I couldn't stargaze for too long despite being incredibly well wrapped up, and retreated back to that cosy hostel fire.

Mount Cook Village was probably the highlight of my entire New Zealand road trip, I was totally awestruck by its otherworldly beauty and spectacular scenery. If anyone reading this is planning a New Zealand road trip, make sure to put it at the top of your to see list!