Three weeks in New Zealand - 4/12 - 5/4/2024

Day 18-Trail to Hooker Lake-4/28/2024

We are getting deeper into the heart of the Hooker Valley track and the trail is very rocky.  People sitting on top of big rocks lining the trail for a bit of rest.

The trail is well kept and Mount Cook feels almost within reach from here.

Just ahead, we spotted the light blue/gray waters of Hooker Lake at the base of the mountain. It sits in a natural bowl beneath the Hooker Glacier.

  The lake is partially hidden from this angle but grows larger and clearer as you approach the final part of the trail.

Soon after this rocky stretch, we are approaching the second swing bridge.

The bridge is suspended over the Hooker River.

 It is another narrow, steel-cabled suspension bridge over the Hooker River.

The bridge is facing straight ahead the towering presence of Aoraki/Mount Cook, framed perfectly at the end of the valley. The mountain appears massive and steep, its snow-covered summit gleaming against the sky.

Below the bridge is the Hooker River rushing in fast, and flowing from Hooker Lake just upstream.

We just got off the bridge and continue onward...

After crossing the second swing bridge, we have reached one of the most serene and striking parts of the Hooker Valley Track. Ahead is a wide, open alpine meadow filled with native grasses and a sense of peaceful vastness.

It is now around 11:30/Noon and the sun is starting to come out.  This section of the trail opens into a broad, grassy valley floor,  a flat area filled with golden grasses, alpine mosses, and low-lying shrubs.

The trail follows the Hooker River which flows just off on the right side of the trail.

The river here is braided, meaning it splits into multiple channels weaving over gravel and rocks. The water is a milky glacial blue/gray, colored by rock flour ground up by the Hooker Glacier.

Looking ahead, you can see Aoraki/Mount Cook drawing closer, now appearing massive and imposing with its snowy slopes rising sharply into the sky.

The atmosphere here feels open, peaceful, with the sun shinning above, and we also hear the constant flow of the river beside us.

We love it here.  It is so quiet and peaceful.

Stairs taking us to higher elevation.

In front of us is vast and open valley.

The sun is rising and the weather is a lot warmer now.

We passed by a mountain slope that is lush with alpine vegetation.

A stream flowing down,  it’s likely snowmelt or glacial runoff, trickling down from above the summit of the ridge

We are now walking one of the most iconic and scenic sections of the Hooker Valley Track with the long wood boardwalk, where the alpine world fully opens in front of us.

Ahead, we see a small wooden bridge.

We are on the small wooden bridge set over a minor stream.

This small bridges are surrounded by bushes, cushion plants, and a small pool.

This stretch is a raised boardwalk covered with a metal mesh grid was designed for grip and drainage in all seasons, especially in wet, icy, or snowy conditions.

The boardwalk gently curves and stretches ahead, leading you straight toward the base of Aoraki/Mount Cook, which now looks massive and commanding just beyond the valley.

On either side of the boardwalk, the landscape is wide open, filled with golden tussock grasses that are moving back and forth as the wind is blowing gently.

In front the valley stretching far and the mountains rising in the distance.

We are just crossing the third and final swing bridge on the Hooker Valley Track, and we are in the final stretch toward Hooker Lake.

This is the longest and highest of the three bridges, suspended over the upper Hooker River, which at this point is flowing directly from Hooker Lake, just ahead.

Once we crossed the bridge, the trail is winding through rocky moraines and alpine scrub.

  And then the trail led us to a well-built wooden path with a gentle series of stairs leading uphill.

The trail becomes a gravel path again with a gentle incline, winding through rocky moraines and alpine scrub.

All trails in the park are well kept and really easy to follow.

We are at the final stretch toward Hooker Lake.

Then just in front of us,  we saw part of Hooker Lake

We are now arriving at Hooker Lake, the unforgettable destination at the end of the Hooker Valley Track. It’s one of the most awe-inspiring glacial lakes in New Zealand, set right beneath the tallest peak in the country.

Hooker Lake is a proglacial lake, formed by meltwater from the Hooker Glacier, which sits at the northern end of the lake, nestled below Aoraki/Mount Cook.  The lake is relatively young, only forming in the 1970s as the glacier retreated, and it's still growing as the glacier continues to shrink.

These chunks of floating ice likely broke off from the glacier.

These ice chunks can vary in size,  from small, crystalline pieces to massive blocks the size of cars, and they often drift slowly across the lake, pushed by wind or meltwater currents.

At the lakeshore there are benches, flat rocks, and places to rest. Some hikers sit for a picnic or just to quietly take in the view.

On still day like today, the lake can be mirror-like, reflecting Mount Cook and the sky above.

Sitting down for a quiet rest, a sip of water, unpacked a snack, and simply soak in the silence and grandeur of the mountains.

Raised stone terrace at Hooker Lake is a thoughtfully placed resting area, and it’s the perfect spot to pause and take in the epic surroundings.

From this spot, you get an unobstructed, panoramic view of the lake, the floating icebergs, and the mighty presence of Aoraki/Mount Cook rising straight ahead.

We are now leaving the Lake and there are a lot more people on the trail.  The sun is definitely shining and warming up the area, and these people are covering up, afraid of getting too much sun.

We are just following the trail back to where we came from.  I took us about two hours to get to this point.

NEXT... The trek back