Tramping in Hooker Valley

Hiking in New Zealand is called tramping and today was the day that we would be tramping in Hooker Valley. Mature.It was a 5 hr return walk and the most popular track in the National Park. We crossed three swing bridges and saw the mountains from every single angle.






It was incredible to see the ice on the mountain (it looked blue too! I am guessing from the glaciers) and a somewhat enjoyable walk. My only issue was that since it was a walk through the valley between the mountains predominately, there was a lot of rock/ gravel to walk on which became incredibly tiring as you constantly had to stabilise yourself.






Iceberg.








View from the room.

We returned back to our accommodation with nothing to do and I spent the remainder of the day watching terrible tv and skyping.

Mount Cook & Lake Tekapo

On the second day (the very first full day) we headed for Mount Cook via Lake Tekapo. I have to admit that I don't have too much experience with highways in Australia (perhaps I get confused with motorways) but the highways that connected all the cities in New Zealand seemed quite small. They were always just one lane.









When we left Christchurch, it was incredibly overcast and a little chilly compared to Sydney weather. However, by the time we reached Lake Tekapo, the skies had cleared and it was a brilliant blue with no clouds. The colour of the lake was incredible! My photos do not capture the aqua coloured water. This lake (and in fact most of the lakes) are this colour due to the glaciers and the particles that settle in the water.









After a very long, but scenic drive, we arrived at Mt Cook and our accommodation which was incredibly shit considering it cost $150 / night. We were exhausted and with the little time we had left in the day, we to the lookout for the glaciers which was very underwhelming. But the view of the valley was breathtaking. I am sure it was used in a battle scene for Lord of the Rings (along with probably almost every single city in New Zealand).